Speechless
by silverwrym
Summary: Reid is trying to recover on his own after his harrowing experience out on the bayou. Unfortunately, his determination to heal on his own is thwarted by his fellow profilers who can tell that he is hiding something away from them. Meanwhile, John is not done with Spencer yet and is determined to get back what he lost. This is the sequel to"The Raconteur." Read that story first.
1. Evading Questions

**Disclaimer: I do not own or make a profit off of Criminal Minds...sigh.**

**Hello all! This story is a continuation of my previous one called "The Raconteur." I highly suggest that you read that story first because this one won't make a bit of sense if you haven't. The main focus of this story is going to be healing our trouble bound Reid and taking down his obsessed stalker John.**

**I wanted to thank everyone that weighed in on the last story. I appreciated hearing your comments and constructive feedback. Feel free to leave a note anytime!**

**Please forgive any mistakes!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Reid was the first person to board the jet back to Virginia. Hotch had picked him up from the hospital early and drove him straight to the aircraft. It was an awkward ride rife with silence and the occasional attempt at making conversation. The worst part of the ride was when they got to the airport and Hotch had tried to get Reid to open up about the ordeal. In typical uncooperative genius fashion Reid shut Hotch down real quick and exited the car.

Currently he was sitting in the back of the plane in the spot everyone used when they wanted to be left alone. He had placed his go-bag on the seat across from him to prevent any of the profilers from sitting down uninvited. Then he pulled his legs up into the seat and clutched them close to his chest, a position that was slightly uncomfortable because it upset the brand that was etched into his skin. Still, Reid felt that the closed off position would be a good signal to the others that he didn't want to be bothered.

Hotch had yet to climb aboard, probably because he was waiting for the others out on the tarmac. More than likely he was going to warn them to leave Reid alone because the young agent was clearly not ready to talk to anyone yet.

Reid could hear their footsteps tramping up the steps outside and decided to act like he had fallen asleep in his tightly curled form. He tried to even out his breathing so that his sleep looked completely natural but he was pretty sure the profilers could see through it. He listened as they settled down on the opposite side of the jet, talking in hushed whispers. After a couple of minutes he heard a heavy set body walked down the aisle and stopped right next to him. He could feel a hulking presence standing over him and knew that they wanted to wake him up. Moments later thought he perceived a huge sigh being released and the presence departed from his side. It was probably Hotch or Morgan that wanted to talk to him, but he really couldn't be bothered at the moment. Especially since he made it clear to Hotch earlier that he wasn't interested in talking.

The injured agent could feel the jet starting down the runway. Deep inside he was getting excited that soon there would be hundreds of miles separating him from the most humiliating experience of his life. Soon he would be home and safe in his familiar territory. He could start the healing process on his own like he planned, and if he was lucky none of the profilers would be the wiser.

Off in the distance he could hear snippets of the conversation his coworkers were having. He heard Hotch mention to them that Reid was frustrated when he couldn't do simple things and how he was so defensive whenever the subject of talking about his experience came up. Reid was upset that they were talking about him so casually. It seemed to solidify the fact that he just couldn't trust them anymore. Reid thought back to his earlier encounter with Hotch and was proud of how he handled it knowing that there would be more unpleasant ones just like it in his future.

* * *

**4 hours earlier**

Reid stood up beside the hospital bed and struggled to finish putting on the dirty pants that he was found wearing. Scrub pants were just not appealing to the genius because of how easily they could be torn off an unwilling body. So instead of choosing to use the hospital proffered clothes he decided to wear the soiled ones. Unfortunately, he had already learned that trying to accomplish any task with his casted hands was difficult, but he hadn't anticipated the struggle he was enduring just to zip up his pants. Luckily he was right handed and he only had to deal with one finger being casted on that hand. So he grasped the metal tong in between his thumb and middle finger and pulled up.

He winced as pain shot through his hand from putting it through such an arduous task. He wanted to massage it but the cast got in the way. Instead he opted to sit back down on the hospital bed and wait for the doctor to come in and officially discharge him.

Reid looked around the room and noticed a lack of decoration, get well soon trinkets, and balloons. After kicking Morgan out of his room the first night he asked the hospital staff to keep all visitors out. He knew it was stupid to keep his friends away, but he couldn't bring himself to face them after Morgan's revelation the other night.

Deep down he knew that he had acted irrationally to the fact that they didn't head right out and save him once they realized who might be holding him captive. Regrettably, he also couldn't get over the fact that if they would have gone out and looked he may have never been raped.

Raped. Spencer Reid had been raped by the sadistic man that had held him captive for close to four days. He knew that he was experiencing one of the textbook stages a rape victim goes through, the "Underground Stage." He was trying to suppress any thoughts of the rape from flitting through his mind and all he wanted to do was go back to his normal life. He felt that if he was successful at fooling his brain into thinking that nothing really happened than he may be able to fool his teammates.

Avoiding his coworkers' questions and concerns was going to be challenging. His abnormal reaction to Morgan the other night probably forced their profiler minds into a tizzy. So, he was going to have to downplay the incident and his subsequent refusal to see them as nothing more than needing privacy to come to terms with what happened to him out there. In fact he would even tell them that he was thinking about seeing a counselor when they get home to help him sort through his feelings. He knew for a fact that they would love to hear that he was willing to open up to someone, even if it wasn't them. Of course, he would never actually go to a counselor. The idea of sharing his experience with someone, even a total stranger mortified him.

Sighing as he propped himself up on the bed he set his sights on putting on his shoes. He had thought that pulling up a simple zipper was a difficult task, but it turned out that tying his shoes was pretty much impossible. Frustrated with his inability to do something so easy he ripped his right shoe off his foot and threw it at the door in frustration.

Alas, his shoe throw couldn't have been more ill-timed because at that moment Aaron Hotchner walked through the door to be greeted with a rubber sole in his face.

"Wow. Morgan said you were upset, but I never expected that," Hotch said dryly as he bent down to pick up the rogue shoe.

"Uh…I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you were coming in. Are you okay?" Reid asked in shock at his bad luck.

"I'm fine. No damage done," Hotch said as he handed the shoe back to his injured agent. He then unhooked Reid's go-bag from around his shoulder and set it next to the genius. "I thought you might like to wear your own clothes instead of those dirty jeans and scrub shirt."

Reid shrugged not wanting to have to revisit the exertion that would come with putting on a whole new outfit. Instead, he took the shoe that Hotch gave him and wedged his foot into it again but this time he left the laces undone. Once both shoes were settled on his feet he dangled his legs off the hospital bed and stared down at them as he kicked them back and forth.

Hotch, realizing that Reid wasn't going to any conversations broke the ice by asking, "Do you need help with those?"

Reid's head jerked up and gave Hotch a questioning look with his puppy dog eyes.

"Your shoes," Hotch gestured at the sad looking laces dragging the floor.

"Oh…I'll be fine," Reid answered, embarrassed that his boss wanted to tie his shoes for him.

"Nonsense, Reid. You really need to accept help when it's offered. Right now you are unable to do some simple tasks and that is nothing to be ashamed of," Hotch admonished him as he bent down in front of the resident genius and tightly tied his shoes.

Regardless of Hotch's words Reid was still self-conscious of his current weakness and he could feel his face start to burn bright red. If there was one thing in the world that Reid couldn't handle it was any show of weakness. At that moment he swore that he would wear nothing but loafers for the remainder of his healing. There was no way he was going to be in such a degrading situation again with someone he so respected.

"Thanks," Reid said when the man was finished. He trained his gaze toward the tiny window that allowed some light into the dingy hospital room. He could see dust particles floating in the beams of light shining through the window. He tried to count how many there were drifting about instead of meeting his friend's piercing gaze.

After a few minutes of silence and a grand total of 1294 pieces of dust accounted for Reid decided to ask Hotch a question, "Why are you here?"

"Well, your doctor called to let me know that you were being discharged this morning. I came to pick you up and take you back to the jet. We've finishing up our part of the case and we're going home in a few hours," Hotch explained.

"He shouldn't have done that. I would have been fine getting to the jet on my own," Reid responded unhappy with the doctor.

"How would you have gotten back?"

"I would have taken a taxi," Reid said simply.

"That would have cost a fortune. Besides, we've been worried about you and I wanted to see how you've been doing with my own eyes," Hotch said.

"I'm fine," was all Reid would say in response.

"Spencer, you're-," Hotch was interrupted by the entrance of the doctor pushing a wheelchair.

"Good Morning Dr. Reid. Oh, you made it Agent Hotcher," the doctor said as he stopped the chair in front of the agent's bed.

"Good Morning Dr. Etchinson," Hotch said as a greeting noticing that Reid wasn't going to attempt any pleasantries.

The doctor nodded in acknowledgement and turned to Reid, "Well, it looks like you're ready to get out of here. I just want to check your injuries once more and then we can get to signing your release papers."

The doctor made to reach for Reid's gown to pull it up but the genius held up his hands in defense. "Um…Hotch, could you please step out for this?"

Surprised, Hotch said, "Of course Reid," and walked out to give his agent some privacy.

Once the door was firmly shut Reid submitted to the exit exam with hesitation. He was still having issues when anyone went to touch him. His body would involuntarily flinch away from any hand and he would start to tremble ever so slightly. The young agent knew he needed to get these unintentional reactions under control as soon as possible to avoid the perceptive profilers' suspicions.

As soon as the examination was through the doctor fetched Hotch from the hallway, so he could hear his parting instructions for Reid.

"Alright Dr. Reid, I am giving you a prescription for a burn cream that you need to apply to your wounds at least three times a day. You are also receiving some antibiotics to ensure that the bacteria from the alligator bite are fully flushed from your system. Finally, I am prescribing some pain killers because no matter how much you deny it I know that you are feeling some discomfort from your wounds," the doctor explained to his stubborn patient.

"Thank you, Dr. Etchinson," Reid said quietly not putting up an argument about the medication.

"Okay, sign on this line and we can get you out of here," the doctor said pointing to the signature space on the paper.

Reid quickly scrawled his name and pushed himself off the bed. He reluctantly sat in the chair and grabbed the bag containing the book from the stand next to his bed. Hotch quickly grabbed the bag away from Reid and said, "I'll carry this for you."

Reid began to panic because he didn't want Hotch to discover the book hidden within its depths, "No, I can hold it. Give it here."

"Nonsense. You just relax and enjoy the ride," Hotch chided him wondering what was in the bag that Reid wanted to keep secret. Grabbing the untouched go-bag that he had brought he trailed behind the two doctors hoping that he would get his agent to open up on the ride back to the precinct.

Relief flooded through Reid when he successfully buckled his seatbelt without any help. He snatched the bag with his book from Hotch's hand and clutched it to his chest as his superior got into the car.

* * *

The ride to the jet was silent and awkward for the two agents. One was clearly trying to avoid speaking while the other couldn't figure out how to bring up an unpleasant topic of conversation.

Biting the bullet Hotch decided to just come out with it and said, "Look Reid, Morgan told me that you were upset because we didn't go out to look for you the night we found out that John was the unsub."

Reid shifted in his seat and turned his head to stare out of the passenger window, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, well you don't have to talk. Just listen," Hotch said in his boss-like tone.

"No Hotch. I don't want to talk about it and I really don't feel like listening to you talk about it either," Reid said uncharacteristically.

"Alright…maybe later," Hotch said in defeat unused to hearing Reid being so forceful.

The continued the drive in silence until they reached the jet. Hotch parked the borrowed SUV and turned toward his agent again.

"Reid, the others are going to be here soon. I really don't want you taking out your anger out on them when the reason you're upset is my fault. I told them to go to bed that night. It was my order and if you want to be mad someone than take it out on me. I'm sorry that you had to spend an extra night with that man, but I really didn't have a choice. The tour guides were exhausted and we couldn't get them back to search the swamp until they rested up. It was in everyone's best interest to get some rest and rejuvenate after such a long day of searching," Hotch tried to explain to the angry man.

"Whatever," was the only response he got out of Reid.

"Come on, you need to start talking. We were able to convince the local police that your statement wasn't needed but I know that you need let it all out. It's not healthy to keep this stuff bottled inside. I know that part of the reason you kicked Morgan out was because you were genuinely upset, but I also know that you were just trying to avoid talking to us too. You've got to share what happened with someone. It doesn't have to be me, but you could pick someone else on the team to open up to. Anyways Reid, you know you're going to have to talk to a psychologist and pass an evaluation before you can come back to work. So practice opening up now so it won't be so hard later," Hotch entreated the boy.

A little laugh pierced the car. It was such a tiny sound that Hotch wasn't even sure that he heard it. But it happened again and got louder and louder. Reid was actually laughing hysterically by then end. He started coughing and began to clutch his stomach in pain.

"Reid, talk to me!" Hotch said worriedly.

"Talk? You want me to talk to you? Talking's what got me into this mess. No. I'm not talking about this with you or any of the team. If I've learned anything over the past week it's that I'm better off if I keep my mouth shut. All my life words have been my release but now I realize how much they have destroyed my life. I'm done with talking Hotch! I'll talk to whichever bureau doctor you want me to, but that's it. Now can I get out of the car?" Reid said with such finality that Hotch knew that arguing with the young man would be useless.

Reid didn't wait to be dismissed but flung open his door and made his way to the jet. Hotch just stared after his agent and wondered what hidden meanings were buried within Reid's short speech.


	2. Meet the New Strauss

**Disclaimer: Season 9 would have started by now if I owned it.**

**Hi all! Thanks for everyone that commented, followed, and favorited the new story. I appreciate all your support and kind words. Your reviews really made me smile and they give me motivation to keep writing. I love hearing all of your thoughts! You guys rock!**

**Please forgive my mistakes. I was in a rush posting this and didn't really edit it too much.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

About an hour into the flight home the rest of the team settled down and got lost in their thoughts. The cabin was enveloped in silence as they each contemplated the impact of the last case and how it would affect their youngest team member. He was still off by himself in the back of the cabin sleeping fitfully. Each time a moan issued forth from Reid's lips five heads would focus their concerned eyes on the young man and wish there was something they could do to help him.

Hotch was on his way to wake the young man up after an especially loud, "No," was expelled out of the kid when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw that the number was from the bureau. Interested in who was calling him, Hotch decided to take the call and told Morgan, "Wake him if he gets worse."

Hotch quickly made his way to the tiny kitchenette and answered his phone, "Hotcher."

"Ah, Agent Hotchner. This is your new Section Chief Matt Cruz. I was going to wait for you to land to formally introduce myself but once I saw your preliminary report on your most recent case I decided to call," the new section chief said as an introduction.

"I understand, sir. How can I help you?" Hotch asked.

"Well, I noticed that one of your agents was directly involved with John Brookins for multiple days but you neglected to add any sort of statement or details into the paperwork. I was hoping to read a full account of how he was abducted, what occurred while he was there, and why you're leaving before he was caught," Agent Cruz explained.

"Sir, I understand entirely your concern over the lack of details, but I think that this conversation would be more suited for the office. We should be landing in a couple of hours. How about we meet in your office and discuss this further then?" Hotch asked mostly because he didn't want the others to overhear the conversation.

"That would be fine. I would also like you to bring Agent Reid along with you so we can get his statement officially recorded," Agent Cruz said right before he hung up.

Hotch sighed as he put his phone away. The reason the paperwork lacking so many details was because Reid hadn't given any yet. The genius made that clear when he banned everyone from his hospital room and then again during the awkward car ride to the jet. Reid was going to be upset when he found out that now he had no choice but to talk about his experiences, especially to a complete stranger that was now his boss's boss. The kid didn't do well in any type of social situations, but when he was pressured with judgment by superiors he crumbled. Hotch was not looking forward to the witnessing his unstable agent cope with the upcoming pressure.

Rossi gave him a questioning look as he sat back down and crossed his legs. His trademark eyebrow rose up as he asked, "What was that all about?"

"That was our new section chief calling to see why the preliminary report was so bare," Hotch explained.

"I see. And what did you tell him?" Rossi questioned unafraid of prying into Hotch's business.

"I told him that the conversation was better suited for the office, and he agreed. But that was right before he demanded that I bring Reid along to give his statement," Hotch told him.

"Ah, what did you say to that?" Rossi asked knowing that the genius wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

"Nothing, he hung up before I could respond," Hotch said.

"Well, it looks like the kid's time to heal is up," Rossi said knowing that Reid was going to fight this tooth and nail.

"I know. I'm going to go wake him up before we land and explain the situation. He isn't going to like this…" Hotch trailed off as he started to deliberate on how he was going to break this to Reid gently. Deep down Hotch knew that there was more than meets the eye to what happened to Reid. The genius has never been one to be forthcoming about his trials and tribulations and Hotch knew that he and team were going to have to coach the real story out of him. There was no way that anything Reid said to the new section chief would be close to the truth. He would probably give a typical evasive answer and think that he was out of the woods, but Hotch wasn't going to rest until he found out what really happened out at that cabin. He knew that if the team let Reid off the hook this time and allowed him to deal with the aftermath of his kidnapping alone than something worse than an addiction to Dilaudid could consume the young man's life.

* * *

_Reid could feel something covering his mouth preventing him from talking. He was in pain and needed help but the obstruction had to be removed first. He brought up his and felt the duct tape that was encircling his head. He started scratching at his face trying to dislodge the sticky gray material from his mouth but his hand was quickly snatched away. He looked up in panic at the monstrous man that loomed over him. He watched as the Neanderthal grabbed his wrist and held his hand steady. With one fluid motion the man gripped his fingers and snapped them like twigs. Reid let out a muffled scream and thrashed about trying to dislodge the large man._

"_You're quite a fighter, aren't ya?" the man taunted from above him. "I think it's time we had some fun."_

_Reid began to panic realizing what was about to happen. He tried to move his body to evade his captor but he was sufficiently restrained. He moaned against the gag as the man bent his knees in order to allow himself easy access to his victim. He squeezed his eyes shut to block out the oncoming images. He could hear a voice calling him from a distance but he was too worried about being raped again to bother acknowledging the sound._

"_Reid…Reid you need to wake up. Open your eyes Reid," the man on top of him said, his words piercing the black veil that his closed eyelids caused._

_This was it. His captor was about to go for it. He felt a hand on his shoulder shaking his body back and forth. He gathered up his strength and made one last ditch effort to save himself and kicked out one of his restrained legs as far as the chain would allow._

"_No! Not again!" he shouted through the tape._

"Ow! Dammit!" a voice said jolting Reid out of his nightmare. The genius's eyes snapped open and he started taking in his blurry surroundings. Unfortunately, his breaths became rapid and shallow. He couldn't get enough air and began to hyperventilate as a result.

"Calm down Reid. It's only us. You're on the jet and we're about to land in the next twenty minutes. You're safe here," Morgan's voice said gently trying to soothe this panicking friend.

The second he heard his friend's voice the young agent began to calm down a bit. He was safe. He knew that he was on the plane. He had talked to Hotch earlier in the car, boarded the plane, and fell asleep. He was just dreaming. John wasn't here and he wasn't in any danger.

"That's it genius. Focus on my voice," Morgan continued wishing he could give his friend a comforting touch. "Man, pretty boy. I didn't know you had that much strength in you. You really nailed Hotch right in the crotch."

"What?" Reid croaked out catching the last part of Morgan's words.

"Yeah man. He was trying to wake you up when you kicked out at him and yelled," Morgan explained.

"I didn't mean too," Reid said trying to locate his superior so he could apologize.

"It's okay Reid. I shouldn't have woken you up so harshly," Hotch's strained voice said from a few seats away.

"I…I was…I was in the middle of a dream," Reid muttered not wanting to explain any more than necessary.

"Do you want to talk about it kid?" Morgan asked.

"No! No…I'm fine," Reid said quickly, "I'm sorry Hotch. Uh…what did you need?"

Hotch got up from his seat feeling slightly better and limped over to the empty one across from Reid. He put the boy's bag on the floor and sat down again. He looked the kid over and took in his panicked demeanor.

"I need you to come back to the bureau with me when we land. The new section chief wants to talk to us about the case," Hotch explained.

"Alright…why?" Reid asked.

"He wants to get your statement about what happened out on the island," Hotch said preparing himself for the emotional storm that was sure to come.

Reid's face paled and his hands began to tremble. "Tonight? He wants my statement tonight. I…I don't think I can. Couldn't he just wait a few days?"

"No Reid. He was clear that he wanted to talk to you and me tonight. I'm sorry but we need to make an appearance. Look, I'll do most of the talking and try to get him to back off until a more appropriate time when we get there," Hotch explained.

A frown settled on Reid's face when he realized that arguing with Hotch would be useless right now. He needed to stick to his earlier plan and only discuss the details that everyone already knew about. He could do this. And when he gets done he could go home and wallow in his own thoughts for a few weeks while he healed physically.

He looked out the window and realized that the blurriness from earlier still hadn't gone away. He needed his glasses. His contacts had been removed at the hospital, and since he had banned everyone from his room he hadn't been able to ask for his satchel which held his replacements and his glasses.

"Um…did you guys find my bag at the crime…from where I went missing?" Reid asked the profilers that were all hovering around him.

"Ah, no we didn't see it there Reid. All we found on the ground were spilt coffee cups and their holder. You didn't have it with you at the cabin?" Blake answered since she was one of the people to inspect the scene of his abduction.

"Ah…no. It wasn't there or if it was John never showed me where he put it," Reid answered.

"I'm sorry then. I guess you'll have to buy a new one when we get home," Blake said.

"Yeah, pretty boy. Or you could invest in a wallet like every other man," Morgan teased hoping to get a smile out of Reid.

Reid ignored Morgan's comment and said to Hotch, "I don't think I should go see the new section chief. I can't see a thing. My glasses and extra contacts were in my bag. If I go in without being able to see I'm likely to trip and fall and embarrass myself in front of our new boss. No, I think it would be better if I go home and get settled before meeting with him."

"Sorry Reid. You'll be fine. In fact, I'll even drive you home afterwards so you don't have to ride the subway at night without your glasses," Hotch said crushing Reid's hopes quickly.

Reid huffed as a response and buckled his seatbelt. The rest of the team realized that the conversation was over and made their way back to their seats for the landing.

* * *

As soon as the plane landed they all disembarked and split up among the two SUVs at their disposal. Reid ended up riding with Rossi and Hotch because he didn't think they would bother him too much during the ride.

He was right and the trip was made mostly in silence. When they got back to the bureau everyone went to their respective offices and desks and prepared to go home for the day, except for Hotch and Reid. The two of them made their way up to Section Chief Cruz's office and waited for him to answer the door.

Neither agent was surprised when an attractive middle aged man opened the door and beckoned them inside. He formally introduced himself to the two agents and had them sit in the two seats directly across from his desk.

"Welcome back. I'm glad to see the plane ride went well," Agent Cruz began. "I called you in tonight before you left so that you could give me a few more details as to what happened down in Louisiana. I know that I'm new here but I need to be kept in the loop on the details of your case, even if you took it before I was promoted. So, Agent Reid can you tell me how your involvement with the unsub, John Brookins, got started?"

"I…I went out to get coffee our first morning there and he took me by surprise," Reid said as his hand went up to his neck to displace the imaginary snare that seemed to be choking him as he spoke. The rough casts grazed against the skin and made him shudder at the memory of his fingers being broken.

"Can you explain that in more detail?" Agent Cruz asked unaware of Agent Reid's discomfort with this whole situation.

Reid began to get flustered at the prospect at discussing his abduction. He hadn't told anyone how he had been taken. It was a bit embarrassing to admit that he, a trained FBI agent, was so unaware of his surroundings that his lack of attentiveness caused him to be kidnapped.

Hotch, noticing that Reid's eyes were distant, signaling that his mind had wandered off to another place decided to speak up on his agent's behalf, "Sir, with all due respect I don't think right now is the best time for this discussion. I will be happy to stay behind and discuss the case with you, but Agent Reid is in severe need of rest at his own home. Perhaps we can continue this line of questioning in a few days after he has a chance to get settled in at home again."

Agent Cruz's eyes narrowed in on Hotch and analyzed him for a few moments. He turned his gaze back to Reid and noticed the way the boy perked up at the prospect of leaving without having to give his statement.

"I'm sorry Agent Hotchner, but the bureau needs answers as soon as possible. The higher ups want to know why your team left a case behind unresolved. John Brookins was never caught and is still roaming the swamp. What if he starts killing again? Your team will personally be held responsible for those deaths. Also, there are questions as to how your agent became such an integral part of the investigation, again if I may add. Am I right, Agent Reid? This isn't your first time catching the interest of an unsub, is it? So no, we can't wait until tomorrow or the next day. We need to settle this now so we can move on without it looming like a dark cloud over our heads," Section Chief Cruz responded allowing no more room for argument.

Silence reigned for a few moments as the three men digested the words that had just been spoken. The suffocating stillness was broken when Reid stood up with a grimace of pain and made his way to the door.

"Agent, you haven't been dismissed yet," Cruz called at Reid's back.

The young man stopped and turned around, "I understand that sir, but I'm leaving anyways. You have no idea what I went through out there, and from the tone of your voice you couldn't care less. I refuse to give my statement right now and I will contact you when I am ready."

"If you walk out that door I will make sure that you are officially on suspension and not sick leave until I deem it time for you to return. Your refusal to cooperate is hindering the closing of this case and I will not tolerate insubordination. So think twice before leaving this office," Cruz responded stubbornly.

"I have already thought about it and I know what I'm doing. As for being on suspension until further notice…it doesn't really matter because I'm not even sure I want to come back to this place to being with," Reid said with a raised voice and a slam of the door to prove his point.

He just didn't care. He couldn't go through with it. He thought he would be able to talk about some of the things that happened to him while he was John's prisoner, but when it came time to talk the words just wouldn't come out of his mouth.

He flew down the stairs and down to his desk. He noticed that the others had emerged from hiding at the sound of the slamming door. Reid didn't bother to engage with them, intent on collecting his things and getting the hell out of the office.

"Reid? Is everything okay?" Garcia called when she emerged from Morgan's office where she had been catching up on everything she missed while they were away.

He didn't bother to answer and started throwing some personal items into a plastic grocery bag he found in the bottom drawer of his desk. It was difficult work with limited fingers but he managed to gather what he needed. Reid was so focused on getting out of there that when a hand dropped onto his shoulder gasped in surprise, twirled around and smacked it away.

"Reid? Calm down. What happened in there?" JJ asked with a bit of hurt on her face at his reaction to her touch.

"Nothing…I mean, I've been suspended. Look, I gotta go," he said quickly and rushed over to the elevator leaving some stunned profilers in his wake.

"Reid," he heard Morgan call as he boarded the lift and pressed the buttons. He let out a deep breath when the doors finally shut. He was finally alone.

* * *

Once the doors opened again into the lobby of the FBI bureau he sprinted toward the exit. He desperately needed some fresh air and the walk to the subway station was just the solution. As soon as he walked out the door the crisp autumn air assaulted his lungs and the dark night surrounded his body. It felt amazing to be free from everything that was haunting him over the last few days. The case and his team were behind him. Now he could go home and start sorting out his life.

Lost in thought Reid wandered down the darkened street. He knew that his decision to do this on his own was not the best one. He knew that studies show that healing after going through such an intense situation is aided by having people around you that care about your wellbeing. But the studies never mention how to get passed the embarrassment and pain that comes with admitting that you are filthy and tainted. He oozed disgustingness out of every pore after his assault. He couldn't expose his team to his problems because they too would come away contaminated. Besides, he was still trying to come to terms with the fact that their sleep took jurisdiction over finding him, which caused him to be repeatedly raped over the course of the night. No, he could do this alone. There were plenty of books and online resources that would help him sort through his issues and move on. He just had to put in the time and the effort to fix himself, and since he was suspended he had all the time in the world.

Reid was stopped at a light waiting for it to change when he felt a presence behind him. He tried to shrug it off as nothing but as he stepped off of the curb to cross the street he felt arms wrap around his waist and yank him back from the road. "Not again," was the only thought that echoed through his mind as he was flung down onto the cement sidewalk.


	3. Forced Confession

**Hello Friends! Special treat for all your awesomness. I have churned out another chapter for you to enjoy today :) Thank you for reviewing, favoriting and following the story. Your comments and worries help me weave a better story. Don't get too spoiled with the daily updates though. I've gotta go back to work tomorrow, so I probably won't update till next weekend. Take care!**

**Please forgive all my mistakes!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Reid felt blinding pain flash through his body the second the hands around his waist upset his soldering iron wound. The rough movement upset his healing skin causing it to break open and start to bleed. Of course that was the least of his worries at the moment. His mind was caught up in trying to break the strong hold of the hand surrounding him. He must have been successful because seconds later he felt the rough cement ground scraping his already abused back.

"Reid! Reid, calm down man. It's me, Morgan," he heard as he thrashed his arms about trying to prevent the hands from coming back to attack him again.

"Reid! Stop it! I'm not going to hurt you," Morgan's voice pleaded.

Realizing that the stranger that grabbed him wasn't trying to assault him Reid started to calm down and even out his breaths. He began to comprehend the words coming forth from the blurry man's mouth. It was Morgan, not John. He wasn't in any danger, but why then did his friend grab him like that.

"What the hell Morgan? Why did you attack me? I just want to go home!" Reid yelled at his supposed friend.

"I didn't attack you Reid. I just saved your life. You almost got mowed over by that massive truck that just went by. Weren't you even looking?" Morgan yelled back angry that his friend accused him of assaulting him.

"What? There wasn't a truck. The light said to walk so I did," Reid said quietly, calming after hearing Morgan's words.

"Yes there was. He was running the red light. You almost became roadkill man," Morgan said matching his voice level to his friends as he crouched down to inspect him. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to hurt you."

Reid's right hand went immediately to his midsection. He could feel the blood flowing from the broken scabs but didn't want to admit it to Morgan. None of his friends knew about that wound and he didn't want to reveal it now.

Unfortunately, the scrub shirt that Reid was wear was pretty loose fitting and it pulled up after he was tossed onto the cement. Reid hadn't realized that a hint of bandage was peeking out from under the hem line and it had caught Morgan's eye.

"Hey kid, what's that bandage there for?" Morgan asked with curiosity.

"It's nothing," Reid said finally noticing that he needed to straighten out his shirt to cover the wrappings.

"No…I looks like another wound. I thought you were only hurt on your leg, back, and hands. You never mentioned your stomach was injured," Morgan pried at his prone friend.

"Well, I didn't think it was any of your business. So drop it," Reid said vehemently.

"Come on Reid, it's me you're talking to. You can tell me anything in confidence. What caused that one?" Morgan asked not letting it go.

"It's nothing," Reid hissed between his clenched teeth. "Now why are you here?"

"I was worried about you. You ran out of the office like it was on fire. So I decided to follow you to make sure you were all right. Anyways, I wanted to find out what you meant when you said you were suspended," Morgan explained.

Reid, struggling to get off the cold ground kept his good arm wrapped around his midsection protecting his secret. Regrettably, he had to put some pressure on his left hand to help himself up and cried out in pain when his casted fingers were upset. Suddenly he felt two hands grip him in his armpits and they proceeded to pull him up off the ground. Instead of saying thank you for the help Reid yelped out, "Don't touch me!"

Morgan's hands flew into the air like he was a criminal showing the cops he was unarmed. "Sorry man. It looked like you needed some help."

"Well I don't. Alright?"

"Sure…whatever you say man," Morgan said thoughtfully as he watched some blood stains emerge on the outside of the scrubs.

Reid, realizing that he was being uncharacteristically rude said, "Thanks anyways. I just need to do things for myself right now. How else am I going to adjust to these casts if I don't practice?"

"Well, at least let me drive you home. You couldn't possibly want to ride the subway in the state you're in," Morgan offered hoping for acceptance.

"Um…sure," Reid said reluctantly even though he knew Morgan was right. He really didn't want to ride the subway virtually blind and bleeding. But then he would be stuck in a car with his coworker and probably forced into a conversation he didn't want to have.

"Good. Come on. My car's back this way," Morgan said as he made to put his arm around Reid's shoulders but then thought better of it.

* * *

The car ride started pleasantly quiet with a low thrum of music in the background. Reid was looking out the window watching the blurry orbs of street lamps flash by his eyes. He knew it couldn't last forever and wasn't surprised when he heard Morgan clear his throat in order to get Reid's attention.

"You know that wound that you said was nothing is bleeding pretty heavily. Do you want me to take you to a hospital?"

"No, I'll take care of it when I get home," Reid said hoping to placate his friend.

"So, what happened back there with the new section chief?" Morgan said changing the subject.

"He wanted me to give my statement and I wasn't ready. So I decided to leave and he said that if I walked out the door without being properly dismissed I was accepting a suspension instead of being on medical leave. I told him I understood that perfectly and left," Reid told him.

"Wow! Just…wow. I'm sure Hotch is in there right now trying to defend you. I bet by tomorrow morning it will all blow over and you'll be on medical leave. Agent Cruz is new and probably trying to assert his dominance as a supervisor. Hotch will put him in his place. You can bet on that," Morgan said trying to reassure his friend.

"I don't bet, remember? I'm banned from casinos in multiple states," Reid retorted knowing he was being a smartass.

"I know pretty boy," Morgan said with a smirk.

"Don't call me that," Reid remarked harshly.

"What? Pretty boy? I've called you that forever," Morgan said confused.

"Yeah, and I don't like it," Reid forced out.

"Since when?" Morgan asked.

"Since now. So don't call me that again," Reid almost yelled.

"Alright…alright. I won't call you that again," Morgan said gently.

He barely heard Reid's mumbled response but straining his ears he swore he heard the kid say, "It's not like I'm pretty anymore anyways."

"What was that?" Morgan asked knowing perfectly well what he heard.

"Nothing."

Morgan thrust the car into park outside of Reid's apartment and turned toward his friend. "Reid, talk to me! I heard what you said. Why don't you think you deserve the nickname anymore? Your wounds will heal. You are going to get better."

"I don't want to talk about it Morgan!"

"Look, at this moment I don't care what you want. You can't just shut us out like this. Talk to us! Something happened out there, more than you're letting on and you need to let it out. If you can't talk to me than whom are you going to talk to?" Morgan asked trying to appeal to his friend's senses.

"No one. I…I just…I just don't want to talk about it. Why can't I put it all behind me and move on. Why do we have to keep bringing this up? None of you need to be burdened with my problems. I'll figure it out on my own. I've got all the time in the world now to work through them. Just let me do me!" Reid practically cried.

Fed up with his friend's stubbornness Morgan reached across and yanked up the boy's shirt. "That is not a burden that is a problem. That is a story you need to tell and get off your chest. If you keep issues like this bottled up inside they are going to find a different route out, and it probably won't be pleasant!"

"What do you want from me? Do you want me to sit here and cry and tell you about how he branded me with a soldering iron? Huh? Does it make you feel better knowing that I'm scared for life with the word 'slave' etched into my stomach? Well does it?" Reid shouted out before his face crumpled up and he started to cry.

"Oh my God Reid. I didn't know. Why didn't you tell us?" Morgan asked happy that his friend had finally opened up.

"Because it's just too embarrassing to share. I should have been able to stop it from happening. I should have been stronger and smarter, but I wasn't. Now I have a bitter reminder etched into my skin for the rest of my life," Reid sobbed out rubbing his eyes trying to staunch the tears.

"Reid, you were restrained. There was nothing you could do. I'm sure that if you could have gotten away you would have. There is nothing to be ashamed of," Morgan said trying to comfort his friend.

"Easy for you to say," Reid said reaching for the door handle trying to get out of the car.

"Look. Why don't I stop by after work tomorrow and we can talk some more?"

"I couldn't ask you to waste your time like that. I'll be fine," Reid said with a few tears still trickling down his face.

"It's not a waste to come and talk to my best friend," Morgan said.

"Um…well call first. I'm not sure how I'll feel," Reid said as he hopped out of the car. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime kid," Morgan said as the door slammed shut. He watched his friend walk up to the door disappear into the apartment complex hallway with the spare keys he had fetched from his desk. Morgan felt bad leaving everything out in the open like this but Reid wasn't ready to open up anymore tonight. He was surprised he got the confession out of him that he did. At least he had confirmation that there was more to Reid's captivity than meets the eye. He was just going to have to keep on prying out little tidbits of information one piece at a time until the whole story comes out.

* * *

After spending the last few days staking out the hospital John decided it was time to take a break. He had been watching to see when the boy would be released. His patience paid out this afternoon when he saw his former captive hobbling into a large SUV accompanied by what was probably another agent. John chuckled at the sight of the boy clutching a book sized bag to his chest. He knew the kid had gotten the message he left him.

John knew that getting the boy back was going to be very difficult and at this point in time he hadn't really thought about how he was going to do it. Going against the FBI to get what he wanted was going to require finesse and planning. The first thing on John's agenda was to figure out where they were taking his boy and to see if he would be accessible for the taking.

The rusty old truck that John had borrowed from a friend roared to life as he put it in gear to follow the SUV. He recognized the route they were taking was one that led to the airport. A soft curse issued forth from his lips when he realized that his boy was about to escape his clutches permanently. He pulled the truck over and watched as the SUV entered a secured area and drove off after obtaining clearance. He slammed his hands down on the steering wheel in frustration. How was he going to locate his prey now? He couldn't get into the airport or stop the plane from spiriting away the source of his new addiction. Knowing that his hands were tied right now he shifted the car into gear again and started his long drive back to Krotz Springs. John needed some time to think and a place to lay low off of the sheriff's radar.

* * *

John put his feet up on the coffee table that was in front of the worn plaid couch on which he was seated. He had a plate resting on his lap that held his half eaten turkey sandwich and some ruffled potato chips. He emitted a loud burp after taking a deep swig of his Coke and closed his eyes as he laid his head against the back of the couch.

He had let himself into the house earlier knowing that the owner wasn't going to be home until later that evening. Since he had been there he had taken a nap, enjoyed a hot shower, and prepared himself a meal. He almost drifted off to sleep again after finishing half of his meal but the thought of exploring through the item on the floor next to him roused him out of his sleepiness.

He placed the unfinished food onto the coffee table and reached down to pick up the worn out messenger bag that belonged to the boy. Before his captive's escape he had never bothered to take it off of the boat where he had placed it when he initially kidnapped the kid. Now, in the absence of the boy, he was extremely curious to find out what was inside its leather depths.

Upon lifting the flap of the satchel he was immediately assaulted with the smell of aged paper. Inside he found government files on various open and closed cases, glasses, contacts, hard candy, a well-worn book that had a dedication inscribed inside, and a wallet. John also located the gun and credentials he had thrown in there when he initially searched the boy after tying him up on the boat. He flipped open the credentials and for the first time gazed upon the name of his obsession.

Dr. Spencer Reid.

Wow, this boy must be pretty smart to be a doctor at such a young age. While the credentials were interesting they didn't give much insight into the kid's life. He set those aside and pulled out the wallet. Inside he found Spencer's driver's license which gave him all the information he needed to know. He now had an address to plan around and a destination to research.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the back door open. John merely settled the items he was looking at on his lap and looked up expectantly at the entryway into the living room. As if on cue Maybell shuffled into the room and stopped her strut the second she noticed the man on her couch.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"I just got back from watching the boy at the hospital. He was released today and it looks like he is flying back home," John explained.

Maybell snorted at his answer, "So you went through all that effort for nothing. You've been sitting out in your car for days, living like a homeless person only to see him escape your grasp. Waste of time if you ask me."

"Not really. I noticed he took the book I left with him. So he knows this isn't over. I just gotta figure out a way to get him back," John said with satisfaction.

"Hmph…I still think you're wasting your time. He's gone now. You need to let it go and start rebuilding your life. You can't stay with me forever. What if people find out you're here? I don't want to get into trouble because I'm harboring a fugitive. I don't know why I let you talk me into this in the first place," she grumbled at him.

"You're letting me stay here because our dear old mum would roll over in her grave to find out that you abandoned your own brother," John said knowing that was exactly the reason why Maybell was helping him out.

"Yeah, but would she like the fact that you've been killing innocent girls because you got lonely and bored out on that island of yours. And now you're not even obsessing over a girl but a scrawny boy. Mama would have a heart attack knowing that you started swinging the other way. It just ain't right," Maybell countered knowing their mother would never approve of her son turning gay.

"I know that mama wouldn't approve, but I just can't explain the way I feel about that kid. I don't get it either…it's like I got a taste of an exotic fruit and I can't imagine living the rest of my life without getting to suck on its sweet nectar again. Anyways, none of this would have happened if it weren't for you calling the police everytime you found a piece of the girls in one of the alligators I brought you," John complained.

"Well how was I supposed to know that you were the reason that those girls were getting eaten up by the gators. You should have told me sooner and I would have never reported them. In fact, you could have told me after I found the first one and I would have stopped alerting the cops," Maybell retorted throwing her brother's stupidity back in his face.

"Yeah, well…I didn't want you freaking out on me. I never expected the sheriff to call the FBI in on this whole thing. Besides, it was better to keep you in the dark as much as I could. If those agents would have found out that we were brother and sister they would have been questioning you six ways to Sunday. Nah, it was better that you didn't know about it until absolutely necessary," John said trying to get his sister to understand that he was just protecting her.

"I guess that's true. We're also lucky that the rest of the town is ignorant to our blood relations. Because you know that any one of those gossiping gray hairs that comes into the diner would have been quick to rat us out to the FBI too. So what are you going to do now that he flew the coup?" Maybell asked as she settled into the armchair across from John.

"I found his driver's license in his bag here and I think it's about time I pay a visit to Reston, Virginia," John said with a smile forming on his lips.

"Virginia eh? What are you going to do up there?" Maybell asked.

"Get back what's mine."

"What do you need from me?" Maybell asked knowing that her brother was short on funds and out of assets due to the fire.

"I want to borrow your car. I can't take the truck. That female FBI agent may have seen it when you picked me up from the grocery store. I need money too. Most of mine burned up in the fire and I can't go to the bank without alerting the police to my location. Unless you want to go to some ATMs and get money out for me," John said.

"No, you know that those money machines have cameras installed in them. They catch my face with your card and they'll know that something is up between us. I'll just lend you some money from my rainy day fund, but I expect you to pay me back," Maybell said knowing she was never going to see that money again.

"Thanks sister. You're the best," John gushed.

"Yeah, well. Mama always said that you can't turn your back on family. I've got one more question though," Maybell said.

"What is it?"

"What are you going to do once you get the boy back again? It's not like you have a place to take him to in Virginia."

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there Maybell. Right now I just need to get on the road as soon as possible. The rest will fall into place later," John said getting up from the couch to go and get Maybell's spare set of keys.


	4. Embracing the Dark

**Disclaimer: I don't own the super show that is set for its season premier this week (woohoo!)**

**Hi friends. Thanks for commenting, favoriting, and following my story. You are all amazing and I love the support that you've given me. There isn't much action in this chapter; its more focused on setting the tone. I promise you we are building up to something good though. Just give me a few more chapters and I don't think that you'll be disappointed.**

**Please forgive any typos.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The second Reid closed the door to his darkened apartment he allowed his body to collapse to the floor with his back supported by the wood.

How could he have been so stupid? Why did he open his big mouth to Morgan? Tears that he had tried to curtail in the car began to flow steadily down his cheeks. He knew in that moment that he was weak. He broke his mental promise to himself. He wasn't supposed to tell anybody about the real horrors that had occurred on that godforsaken island. His intention was to keep all of his humiliation to himself and push it into the recesses of his mind to be forgotten eventually along with all of the other degrading things he went through over the course of his thirty-one years.

Unfortunately, his supposed resolve had let him down. Now one of the people he thought of as his best friend knew about some of the ugliness that scarred his soul. Of course, he had already shared with Morgan one of the most mortifying experiences in his life a few years ago. His friend had taken it well, but Reid still saw the pity lingering in Morgan's eyes whenever he looked deep enough. When Reid had gotten home after he had let the story of the goal post slip out he chastised himself incessantly. He had decided way back then to keep the rest of his secrets locked inside. Pity was for the weak and Reid refused to be weak.

But here he was again in the same situation as before, mentally berating himself for sharing a secret. Why couldn't he control his mouth? It was like it had a mind of its own. In fact, his mouth was what had gotten him into this situation in the first place. John even said that it was Reid's ability to weave words that attracted the large man to him. Honestly, if Reid really thought about it all of his trouble stemmed from his inability to control his words.

If he had never told that story to JJ in the grocery store John would have never chosen him as his next target. If Reid wouldn't have told JJ that they should split up outside of Tobias's barn he would have never been kidnapped the first time. If he wouldn't have been so eager to learn and participate in class discussions he would have never been picked on by jealous bullies in school. If he hadn't had written all of those letters to his mother about his job and friends than Randel Gardner wouldn't have drawn his team into the macabre game that caused Elle to be shot. If he had never written all of those articles for scientific journals he would have never attracted Maeve's attention and she may still be alive.

If…

Right then and there Reid decided that he was no longer going to let the "ifs" rule him. He was going to take the "ifs" out his life's equation.

He was going to stop talking. Words were what had gotten him into all of his messes, so the lack of them would be what stops them from happening all together. Of course he wasn't foolish enough to think that he could just become a mute. No, he knew that talking was an integral part of his job and that it was a necessity to get along in society. But that didn't mean that he had to elaborate, go into detail, or spout off random facts that nobody needed. He would cut out all the unnecessary stuff and just stick to the basics. No one needed or wanted to hear from him anyways. After all, his so called friends had all gotten exasperated with his talking. At some point in time, each one of them had made it known to him that they really didn't want to hear what he had to say.

Sitting there alone in the dark Reid had finally found the perfect solution to all of his problems; silence. Deep down he knew that the more silent he allowed himself to become the better. Since people wouldn't know a thing about him they wouldn't be able to hurt him or those he loved. Also, his friends wouldn't have to find out the details of his most excruciating moments. There would be no pity in their eyes, no sorrow for him, and no sympathy for the things that he had endured.

Silence…it was such a simple concept with so many important implications for his future.

* * *

Morgan dialed Hotch as soon as he shifted into drive. He wanted to tell his superior and friend that he had made progress with their favorite genius.

"Hotcher," came a stern voice over the phone.

"Hey Hotch. I wanted to call and let you know what happened with Reid," Morgan explained all in one breath.

"Good, and then I can let fill you in with what happened with Agent Cruz," Hotch responded anxious to hear about the traumatized agent.

"Well, I found him out on the street corner lost in a daze. I was yelling his name trying to get him to stop and talk to me when the signal changed. Hotch, man…he didn't even bother looking and he almost walked right into a speeding truck. I barely managed to reach him in time, but I was able to grab him around the waist and throw him to the ground. He started flipping out and struggling against me like I was some sort of assailant. It took me a few minutes to calm him down and get him to realize that it was me," Morgan explained.

"Is he alright?" Hotch asked hoping that Reid didn't receive another injury from his clash with Morgan.

"Yeah, he got a little scuffed up but nothing he can't handle. Except…," Morgan trailed off.

"Except what?" Hotch asked not liking the mystery behind that word.

"Except his stomach started bleeding," Morgan said gently.

"What? How hard did you throw him down?" Hotch practically yelled incredulous that Morgan had injured the already bruised and beaten man.

"Calm down Hotch. Let me explain. Look, I didn't know he was bleeding at first. He was on the ground rubbing his midsection and I noticed a piece of gauze sticking out from underneath his scrub shirt. I asked him what it was and he immediately shut down my questions. I let it go for a bit because I wanted to convince him to let me give him a ride home, which I eventually did. But not before I tried to help him up off the ground and he flipped out again. All I did was grab him under the arms to lift him up and he yelled at me not to touch him," Morgan described as he pulled into his driveway and parked the car.

"What did you expect? He's was held against his will by a psychopath over this past week, and god only knows what that man subjected him to. Of course he didn't want to be touched. You should have known that," Hotch criticized his fellow agent.

"I know. I know. It was a stupid mistake. But there's more. I saw some red spots start to develop on the outside of his shirt. Hotch, man…the kid has a wound that he and the doctors neglected to share with us," Morgan said with sorrow etched in his voice.

"I knew he was hiding something," Hotch said not surprised by the new information.

"Yeah, so did I. But honestly, that's not even the worst of it. I had to pry it out of him, but Reid is in a deep depression. He won't let me call him pretty boy anymore because he feel disfigured, and he thinks talking about everything would just burden us. Worst of all he thinks that it's his fault that he was kidnapped. Reid is so ashamed of what happened that he can't convince himself to confide in us. The kid is in a dark place right now, and I'm pretty sure that there is even more to the story than what I got out of him tonight," Morgan concluded feeling emotionally drained as he sat in his darkened car waiting to hear what Hotch thought.

"First of all, was his stomach wound alright? What caused it?" Hotch asked wanting to make sure that Reid was at least physically okay for now.

"Yeah, he told me about it in a burst of anger. He promised me that he didn't need a hospital and that he was going to see to it when he got home. As for what caused it, I'm not at liberty to say. I promised him that I would keep his confidence and I think this is something that he wouldn't want me to share. I can guarantee you that it isn't life threatening though," Morgan said knowing that Reid wouldn't want the rest of the team to know about the brand that was engraved in his flesh.

"I guess that will have to do for now, but he is going to have to include it in his statement if he hopes to come back," Hotch said. "Second, do you think he is hiding more than just the one wound from us?"

"I…yeah I do. The way he has been reacting to everything makes me think that there is way more to what happened on that island than meets the eye," Morgan said in defeat.

"I agree. You seemed to have made some progress tonight though. So, I want you to make it your mission to whittle away at his defenses. You need to get him to start talking about whatever it is he is hiding. The sooner he starts sharing his experiences the sooner he will start to heal," Hotch ordered.

"Gotcha. I was already planning on heading to his place tomorrow after work to talk to him some more. But don't you think it would be helpful for you and the rest of the team to work on him too?"

"No. You said it yourself, he is too ashamed to open up to all of us. I think right now you are our best bet on getting him to share what happened. Of course, if you find yourself hitting a wall with him you could always play the Garcia card," Hotch said with a hint of a smile. No one could resist Garcia forever, and she seemed to have a magical way of getting people to let their guard down.

"Yeah, there's always Garcia isn't there," Morgan agreed knowing that his bubbly goddess could be very persuasive.

"Thanks for keeping me updated Morgan," Hotch said, "We'll talk about this some more in the morning with the rest of the team.

"Hey wait. You can't hang up with me just yet. What happened with Agent Cruz?"

"Oh. Well, after Reid's outburst in the office Agent Cruz wouldn't listen to reason. Reid is officially suspended without pay until he comes in and speaks with Agent Cruz again. As of right now, I don't know when that will be. Especially if Reid is as bad off mentally as you say he is," Hotch told Morgan.

"Wasn't there anything you could do? I mean, doesn't the man understand that Reid went through a traumatic experience? The kid needs time to come to terms with whatever happened. Surely Cruz can see that," Morgan complained.

"I think he does see that, but after the way Reid spoke to him he is trying to save face. He knows that he was callous of Reid's feelings but right now he's too prideful to admit it," Hotch said.

"Well tough shit. He needs to admit that he made a mistake and tell Reid that he can take his time," Morgan vented against the arrogance of his new boss.

"Well, I don't see that happening anytime soon. So the best thing we can do is get Reid to open up and Cruz time to lick his wounds," Hotch concluded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Morgan conceded. "I'll see you tomorrow Hotch."

"Bye," was all the other man said before he hung up the phone.

Morgan pressed the disconnect button on his cell phone and extracted himself from the car. As he walked into his house all he could think about was how much more his best friend could be hiding. He knew that whatever else remained unsaid probably didn't hold a candle next to the brand gracing his friend's stomach, and that thought scared the shit out of him.

* * *

Reid was ultimately roused out of his thoughts by the slamming of a door somewhere in the community hallway. He quickly wiped his hand across his face in order to dry the salty drops that were still escaping his bloodshot eyes. He noticed that he was still propped up against his entryway door and decided it was time to get up. After a bit of a struggle, the injured agent hauled his aching body upright and braced himself against the wall. It was then that he set his sights on discerning the shapes that made up his darkened abode.

Unfortunately, the room looked like nothing but a shadowy blur due to his lack of contacts and tear clouded eyes. Instead of turning on a light he decided to navigate the living room based on memory. He misjudged his walk and rammed his injured leg into the couch on his way to the bedroom. The bite on his leg started throbbing as he continued his journey but he just buried the pain deep down with everything else and focused on his goal.

Once he reached his destination he quickly peeled off the soiled clothing that he had been donning all day and threw them in the small trash bin by his dresser. The moonlight provided the only radiance in the room and it had to fight its way through the closed blinds to even make a showing. For the first time in his life Reid found himself embracing the dark instead of being fearful of it. Because of the inherent absence of light he wouldn't have to see his repulsive image in the mirror.

Ignoring the reflective surface on the dresser he hobbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He left the door to the bathroom open allowing some slivers of moonlight to help him see. He removed the bandages that encompassed his body and discarded them. The dressings that had encircled his waist were damp from the fresh blood that had spilled out due to his encounter with Morgan. All of his body's effort that went into healing the soldering iron wound had been ruined and set back at square one. In fact, he could still feel some blood oozing out since there were no longer bandages against his skin to staunch the flow.

On top of having to remove all of the dressings from his various wounds, he also had to wrap his casted hands in plastic bags. The doctor had been adamant that he keep his casts dry and therefore they had to be protected from the cleansing water. It was such a nuisance, but one that he deserved due to his inability to protect himself.

The shower felt like heaven to the depressed genius. It seemed to work miracles as it washed away the blood and grim that seemed to be caked on the agent. He stood in the warming flow for longer than needed and allowed its therapeutic spray to massage his sore body.

Reid didn't know how long he stayed there but decided it was time to get out when the water started to drop in temperature. He reluctantly exited of the porcelain tub and wrapped a towel around his waist. The brand had stopped bleeding at some point during his wash and needed to be redressed. Reid took out his emergency kit and began to tend to the multiple injuries that littered his body.

By now his eyes had adjusted to the shadowy room and it caused him to see his hideous blemishes standing out in contrast to his skin. He quickly wrapped them up in the stark white bindings glad to be hiding them from his eyes again.

Once Reid had fully taken care of his sore body he dressed in his most comfortable pajamas and settled down into bed. He closed his eyes and hoped that sleep would soon find him, but he just wasn't that lucky. When his eyes slammed shut his brain recalled images of John hovering above him with a devious grin. He could feel hands roaming over his body caressing his most private of areas and metal bindings capturing his hands and feet.

He sat up abruptly and gasped for breath. The images were so vivid that Reid was reaching for a gun that wasn't there. It was then that the he realized that he had no way to protect himself. Panic slammed into Reid's mind and sent his heart rate through the roof. The scared genius flung himself out of bed and raced down the hallway to the kitchen. He grabbed a large knife out of the block and turned around to wield it against an unseen assailant.

He stood there a few minutes awaiting an attack that never came. His heartbeat slowed down and he came to the understanding that what he saw had all been in his mind. He admonished himself for being so foolish. John was over a thousand miles away stranded in the bayou. He was safe in Virginia locked up tight in his apartment.

"Stop being so paranoid," he scolded as he walked back down the hallway still clutching the knife in his right hand. "Anyways, I can't fire a gun with a broken index finger. At least with a knife I can still stab someone with or without all of my fingers working."

Feeling a bit safer now that he had found a weapon to keep at his bedside, Reid laid back down. He didn't even try to fall asleep again that night. Instead he fixed his position so that he could see the door and stayed up all night anticipating signs of danger. Reid would be damned if he was taken by surprise again.

* * *

John had been on the road since early this morning. Maybell had gotten him up with her before the crack of dawn and told him to get on the road. Since he was used to early mornings anyways, John easily rolled out of bed and started out on his mission.

He had been on the road for about three hours when he decided to stop off in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Normally he wouldn't need to pull over so soon into a journey, but he had something special that needed to be done.

It was already turning into a blistering day in the Deep South and the heat was oppressive at eight in the morning. John immediately felt sweat beading on his brow the moment he stepped out of the car. He smiled at the feeling, relishing the heat and humidity. The Louisiana native embraced the weather as he walked into the local post office.

He was clutching a parcel that he intended to send via overnight service to his boy. He already had the package addressed to Dr. Spencer Reid and the return address was from a local pharmacy that was across the street from the post office. He knew that his boy would be immediately suspicious of anything he received in the mail, but he hoped the return address would throw a little bit of confusion into the mix too.

Standing in line with a self-satisfied smile John couldn't help but fantasize about how the boy would react to his gift. The image of the kid panicking turned John on a little bit and he could feel a twitching below his belt confirming his arousal. It was unfortunate that the fisherman wouldn't be there to see the boy's face. Nevertheless, he knew that the thoughts of how his taunt was going to affect the kid would get him through until he could see the object of his desire again.

After he went through the whole rigmarole of mailing the package John walked over to a fast food joint and enjoyed a quick greasy breakfast. He planned on driving halfway by the end of the day and finishing off the trip tomorrow. That way the package would have plenty of time to reach its intended recipient and instill the terror that it was meant to inflict.

John let out a content sigh when he got behind the wheel of the car and realized that he was less than forty-eight hours away from seeing his boy again.


	5. Better Off on My Own

**Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the show, and I make no money off of writing my stories using the Criminal Minds characters.**

**Sorry for the reposting everyone but MCatry pointed out a mistake that I made and I had to fix it real quick! Thanks for the help!**

**Hi everyone! I hope you're having an excellent weekend. Thanks for reviewing, favoriting, and following the story. I hope you like this chapter! I am really looking forward to writing the next few chapters because we will see the return of John :) I know, I'm slightly evil to our favorite genius but it's so easy to do!**

**Please forgive any mistakes!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The muted rays of the sun filtered through the same cracks in the blinds that the moonlight used last night. The beams of light fell upon a sleeping genius who was sprawled out over the top of the blankets that covered the bed. His mouth was agape and a hint of saliva was dripping out onto the pillow.

Reid had managed to stay awake till the early hours of the morning, but sleep eventually overtook him. On the floor next to the bed rested the knife that he had retrieved from the kitchen for protection last night. It had slipped out of his right hand's fingers after the tentacles of sleep had wrapped around his mind pulling him under into unconsciousness. His left arm was strewn above his head in a fashion he couldn't achieve while he was under John's rule.

Outside of his window the world was wide awake and the citizens of Reston were getting on with their day. Inside the gawky man was just waking up from his unintended slumber. His breathing started to speed up signaling his trip back into the waking world. Out of nowhere his body shot up from the bed and his eyes flew wide open in fear. He threw out his arms to push away an unseen danger and yelled out, "Stop!"

It took Reid some time to realize that there was no immediate danger residing in his bedroom. He blinked his eyes a few times and lowered his outstretched hands. Another nightmare had weaseled its way into his dreams. This time it was a distorted reenactment of the time John attached him to the floor of the cabin and whipped him with a chain. Reid's back ached with the memory of the metal biting into his skin leaving bruising welts in its wake.

Shifting his body around, Reid fully inspected the room to ensure that he was alone. He saw no evidence of an intruder, but panicked a little when he realized his weapon from the night before was missing. He frantically searched the bed linens looking for the sharp blade. He felt exposed and vulnerable without his one source of protection. When he finally located the knife he quickly snatched it off the floor and relished in the feeling of safety that it brought him.

Reluctantly Spencer shoved himself out of bed, knowing that he couldn't waste away in bed all day. He noticed that his phone was on the nightstand and he brought that along with him as he made his way to the kitchen. Without any haste he grabbed the mocha flavored coffee beans out of the cabinet and struggled to make himself a full pot of coffee with his right hand. Instead of sitting down and waiting for the brew to percolate he stood next to the pot and watched mesmerized as the amber liquid dripped down into the glass pot.

He was lost in his thoughts as he watched each drop fall. How hard could this silence thing be? He had always lived a life of solitude. It wouldn't be that hard to go back to it. All throughout his school years he was virtually alone with only his mother and a few friends to talk to. It wasn't until he had gotten his job at the BAU that he had started to let down his defenses and open up about himself.

Not much good that did him. Every time he let out a tidbit of information about himself people either laughed or used it against him. Like the time he had mentioned typing the word "death" into a search engine. Upon hearing that some of the team snickered and others gave him a look that insinuated that he was crazy. Morgan even went so far as to ridicule him by saying it was no wonder he had never gotten a date. He honestly couldn't think of one positive moment that came from revealing information about his life to others.

Resolve set in upon those thoughts and he decided that without a doubt he was doing the right thing. He didn't need to add more fuel to the fire. What happened out there was between him and John. No one needed to know the gritty details, especially not his coworkers. He knew that not divulging the details could mean that he would never get his job back. But he was a genius after all and there were plenty of other opportunities out there for him to explore.

Happy with his decision, Reid poured a cup of coffee and shuffled over to his worn down couch. He gingerly sat on his favorite cushion struggling to find a position that wouldn't put too much stress on his multiple wounds. He grabbed his phone and was about to turn the ringer back on when he noticed the twelve text messages and five missed calls that were listed on the screen.

The team had been trying to contact him all morning. He listened to all of the voicemails and noticed the same pattern in each of the messages. They all pretty much wanted to check up on him and see how he was feeling. Of course, if he needed to talk they were right there for him. Please call back and let them know that he's alright.

It was rubbish really. They just wanted to get him talking so they could figure out what happened out on the island. So instead of responding to any of their messages he left the phone on silent and set it down on the coffee table in front of him. Today was about healing. Today he was going to teach himself how to push all the memories and feelings deep down into the recesses of his brain where they could never come back to haunt him again.

* * *

Morgan sauntered into the office bright and early at 8:00 a.m. He held a cup of coffee in his hand that was laced with caramel and topped with whipped cream. He decided to get himself a sweet treat this morning after enduring such an emotionally draining night. The sweetened concoction tasted exquisite as it danced over his taste buds on its journey through his mouth.

"Good morning starshine," Garcia trilled from the railing by Hotch's office.

"Good morning baby girl," Morgan called back. "Where is everybody?"

"We're all meeting in the conference room to discuss…well to discuss what to do about Reid," Garcia said as her smile disappeared.

Morgan gave a grunt and walked side by side with his baby girl into the round table room. The rest of the team was already sitting in their cushioned seats chatting quietly. They all looked up at the entrance of their final two members and gave quite greetings to the two.

Once Morgan and Garcia found their spots around the table, Hotch stood up to address them. "As you know last night when we got back from Louisiana Reid and I met with the new section chief. The meeting did not go well and as a result of Reid's refusal to give a statement he has been suspended until further notice."

A grumbling went up around the table but no one interrupted their leader. "I am not happy about the outcome of the meeting either, but at the moment there is nothing I can do about it. Now, Morgan ended up taking Reid home last night after he ran out of here. Morgan, why don't you go ahead and tell them what happened."

Morgan didn't bother to stand up preferring to stay seated, "Yeah…I caught up with Reid out on the street. He was upset and not really paying attention. I stopped him from walking head on into a speeding truck. I ended up throwing him on the ground and it upset one of his wounds. I convinced him to let me drive him home and tried to help him up. He flipped out the moment I touched him, but I let it go. In the car I noticed that he had blood developing on the front of his shirt…"

"Wait…I don't remember him having a wound on his abdomen," Blake interrupted Morgan.

"That's because Reid and the doctor's didn't tell us about it. Look by the time I dropped him off I got him to tell me what caused it. Let's just say that John was more sadistic than we thought. But long story short, pretty boy is incredibly depressed and hiding more than we thought. I'm going to go back over to his place tonight to try and get him to open up more. I know it's going to be difficult, especially since we all know that Reid doesn't like to reveal anything that could leave him feeling vulnerable," Morgan said as he looked around the table to gauge each profiler's reaction.

"Do you want me to come with you tonight? Perhaps he just needs to see a few friendly faces to feel safe," JJ asked.

"No, Hotch and I decided that for now its best that we don't overwhelm Reid with too many people," Morgan started to explain.

"Overwhelm him? Last time we gave him space he ended up with a drug addiction. Shouldn't we try the opposite tactic this time? He needs to know we're there for him," JJ argued.

"JJ, we are not suggesting that we leave Reid alone to deal with this. We are all going to be there for him every step of the way. But we need to take it slow and not scare him off. If he closes in on himself like he did last time there may be more problems than just drugs to save him from," Hotch answered.

"Hotch is right JJ. The genius can't stand looking weak in front of us, and there is no way he going to confess anything if there is a group of us standing around smothering him. Let Morgan try to break his defenses tonight and see what it gets us. Once the kid let's one of us in, it won't be long before we are all in. Then we can really support him through his healing process," Rossi said with his ever wise words.

JJ digested his words and nodded her head in agreement. "But…but what if Morgan's efforts tonight fail?"

"We've already discussed that possibility. Garcia, if Morgan doesn't manage to get through to Reid you'll get the next try. He seems to respond to your comforting ways and you could make a soldier on the Queen's Guard talk to you if you tried," Hotch explained.

"Those guards at Buckingham Palace wouldn't stand a chance against me," Garcia boasted knowing that she had a special talent for setting people at ease.

"Meanwhile, I will work on getting Agent Cruz to reconsider his rash decision to suspend Reid. As I told Morgan last night I think most of it was him trying to assert his dominance over his new subordinates. I'm going to try to make him see reason. Perhaps you could lend a hand with that Rossi. Your tongue is always sharp and ready for a challenge," Hotch proposed to the elder man.

"Challenge accepted," Rossi said with a self-satisfied smile.

"Good, now I am sure everyone has plenty of work to do today. Try to stay focused and I'll try to keep us from accepting any new cases," Hotch said dismissing them as he left the room.

* * *

Morgan packed up for the day around 5:30. He had made a pretty significant dent in all of the paper work that filled his inbox, but there was plenty left for tomorrow. Hotch made good on his word and kept the team from acquiring any new cases throughout the day. Hopefully there wouldn't be any for the next week, but that was a longshot.

Morgan had been trying to call Reid all day to see how he was but the genius never answered. So he got into his car and drove it straight to the local Thai restaurant to pick up some dinner. If he knew Reid like he thought he did, than the boy probably hadn't eaten a thing all day. So he picked up enough food to last the genius for a few days.

Once he was parked in the apartment complex lot he gathered up the food and the movies that he had left in his car this morning. Then, Morgan headed up the stairs to apartment 23. He knocked on the door and waited for his best friend to answer. After about a minute of waiting Morgan knocked on the door, louder this time and called out, "Reid…Reid, it's me Morgan. Answer the door man."

Silence was still the only sound that permeated through the door. Getting worried, Morgan dropped the bag of food down on the floor and started pounding with his fist on the door with resounding thuds. "Reid! This isn't funny man. Open the door now, before I break it down."

Unexpectedly, the door hurtled open taking Morgan by surprise. His fist was in the middle of coming down onto the wooden barrier when it was met with just air. The momentum that he had flowing through his arm was difficult to halt so suddenly and it continued on its journey right into Reid's left cheek.

"Ow, damn it Morgan. Why'd you hit me?" Reid yelped as he rubbed his cheek in disbelief.

"I didn't mean to man. You opened the door to fast and I couldn't stop my fist in time. I'm so sorry. How bad is it?" Morgan asked worried that he had injured his friend.

"I'll be fine," Reid said as he massaged his face. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I told you last night that I was going to stop by after work. So…here I am. I brought food and movies," Morgan said as he held up the DVDs and the bag he picked up off the floor.

"I told you to call. I'm not feeling up to any visitors tonight," Reid said dismissively and tried to shut the door in his friend's face.

"Whoa, wait a minute. I'm sorry I didn't call, but let's not let this food go to waste," Morgan replied as he put his foot out to stop the door from fully closing.

"Look, I just want to be left alone Morgan, and I don't need any food," Reid said with a bit of anger entering his voice.

"Really? What have you eaten today?" Morgan asked knowing what his friend was going to say, "Oh and coffee doesn't count."

"Honestly, it's none of your business what I consume on a daily basis Morgan. Now go away," Reid said rudely hoping it would upset his friend and cause him to leave.

"Damn kid, I just want to enjoy a meal and a movie with you. Come on, let me in," Morgan pleaded pitifully knowing it would guilt his friend into letting him in.

"Fine, but just one movie," Reid yielded as he opened the door to allow his friend entry.

"Excellent! I've got Thai food and the newest Star Trek for your eating and viewing pleasure," he stated as he made his way to the kitchen to prepare the food.

Reid, frustrated that his friend had gotten past the door went and sat on the couch. He really wanted to be left alone. All day he had allowed himself to wallow on the couch and get lost in the back of his mind. He developed a little locked box deep in the recesses of his brain where he shoved all the unpleasant memories that haunted his mind. He forced the brimming box closed and mentally focused on forgetting it was there. Now that his friend had made an entrance he could feel the memories straining against their prison trying to break out, longing to be shared with another human being. But the only way to open that box back up was to dissolve his feelings of pride and shame, and Reid knew it would be awhile before that ever happened.

The young agent was startled out of his thoughts when a large plate of food was set down on the coffee table in front of him. He looked at the food and felt his stomach protest the thought of the meal intruding on its territory. He picked up the plate and proffered fork and began to push the morsels around, trying to make it look like he was going to consume the sustenance.

"Pretty – um Reid, eat. You haven't taken a bite yet," Morgan said trying to coax his friend into giving his body strength.

"I'm really not that hungry," was all he said in response as he set the plate back on the table.

"Alright, but promise me you'll try later. Do you want me to turn the movie on?" Morgan asked hoping his friend's eyes would light up at watching one of his favorite things.

"No…I…Look I just want to go to bed. Do you mind?" Reid asked knowing it wasn't going to be this easy to get rid of his friend.

"Yes, I do mind," Morgan answered surprising Reid with his bluntness.

"Why?"

"Because I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You know exactly what I want to talk about," Morgan said trying to stop this dance they seemed to be having around the elephant in the room. "Look Reid, we know that there is more that you haven't told us. Trust me when I say that I'm here for you. You can tell me anything."

"No."

"No what?" Morgan asked.

"No, there is nothing more to tell."

"Reid don't do this man…I can tell that you're trying to isolate yourself. Don't do it. Let me in. You can't get through this alone. You're going to keep spiraling down the drain until you're so far gone none of us can save you. Honestly, what happened that was so bad that you can't even tell your best friend?" Morgan pleaded his secretive friend who had gotten a dazed look upon his face.

Inside Reid could feel some cracks developing in his resolve. He was afraid. He was terrified that when his friends found out the truth that they would turn from him and run. He was a disgusting used sex toy that was tainted with that man's seed. They would be so disappointed in his inability to protect himself and uphold his FBI agent persona. No, they couldn't save him. He could only save himself, and that was by putting this behind him and keeping them away.

"There's nothing to tell. Now I asked nicely if you would leave," Reid said through clenched teeth.

"Let me help you out of this funk you're in. Opening up can save you from darkening your heart and dying on the inside. Trust me, I know what it's like to try and hide something deep in your soul. It festers and over time it eats you from the inside out," Morgan said sympathetically as he referred to his own dark secret that came out to the team.

"What if I don't want to be saved? Huh? Did you ever think about that? Look, I've thought long and hard about all of this Morgan and in the end I know that I'm better off on my own!" Reid spat out knowing that if he let Morgan continue down this path of compassion than his friend might succeed at breaking the genius's fragile façade.

"But…Reid, I don't want to see you go down the same road that you've already visited. Wasn't it hard enough the first time with Tobias? Don't let John put you back there."

"I can't believe you would even bring that up. On top of trying to compare my situation to your past with Carl, you go and bring up one of the worst times of my life. Are you trying to guilt trip me into talking? As if I'm not dealing with enough right now! Some friend you are. Now get out before I call the police and say that you are trespassing," Reid demanded as he stood up from the couch and opened the front door signaling for his colleague to leave.

"Come on Reid. Stop trying to push me away. Let me prove to you that I'm here for you and on your side," Morgan said trying to appeal to the stubborn man one last time before he walked out the door.

Wordlessly Reid shut the door on the imploring face of his friend and locked it from the inside. He let out a deep breath and collapsed onto the ground. He did it. He kept his secrets to himself and the locked box in his brain settled down once again. The whole situation was much harder than he anticipated.

Emotionally drained again, Reid dragged himself to the couch and stretched out. He knew he was going to lose all his friends if he kept this up. But he had lived without friends before, he can do it again. As he fell into a deep slumber he never heard the thunder rumbling off in the distance as if it was signaling a stormy end to what started off as a peaceful day.

* * *

Morgan, upset with how everything played out with Reid quickly dialed Garcia as soon as he got into the car.

"Hey hot stuff! How did it go with 187?" Garcia answered on the second ring.

"Not good mama. He's really got himself convinced that he doesn't need anybody to help him through it all. I could see the anguish in his eyes though and I know that he's hurting. What I can't figure out is what is so bad that he has to hide it from us?" Morgan questioned hoping the perky blonde would have some idea.

"I don't know sweetie, but it's gotta be bad. So do you think I should go over there tonight?" Garcia asked slightly worried about her genius's state of mind.

"No, I don't think he would be receptive to any company now. I really got him riled up. Tomorrow is Saturday. So, why don't you stop by his place and take him to lunch. He needs to eat, and no one can resist your persistent coaxing," Morgan said with a smile as he pictured Garcia overpowering Reid with kindness.

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Now get some rest!" Garcia ordered before hanging up.

"Bye sweetness," Morgan signed off.

* * *

It was nearing dusk on the end of his first day of driving. John knew that he could make it all the way to Virginia if he really wanted to, but he didn't see the point in rushing. Anyways, the package was going to arrive at the kid's house tomorrow and he wanted his prey to have plenty of time to stew over its meaning.

Thus, John decided to pull over into one of those seedy motels that rented rooms for less than fifty dollars a night. He was pleasantly surprised to see an adult super-shop with an attached strip club right across the street from his chosen establishment. Deciding that it was fate, John parked and went into the store to see if there were any toys he could buy to make his time with the kid more exciting.


	6. The Package

**Hi all! I hope you are having a great weekend! Thanks for following, commenting, and favoriting!**

**I had a really tough time writing this chapter. You know how sometimes your just not satisfied with anything that you write? Well, that's how I feel with this one. But I hope you like it anyways. Leave a note and let me know.**

**Please forgive my mistakes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Reid woke up the next day feeling just as terrible as the day before. He hadn't managed to get a good night's sleep because the nightmares kept infiltrating his dreams. Every time he closed his eyes he was transported back to that cabin where he had felt so helpless and afraid. As a result his sleep was anything but peaceful and the only reason he rolled off the couch was because his watch informed him that it was almost noon.

He groaned as he stretched his back and upset his healing wounds. He sat up on the couch and looked around him. There was only a little bit of light filtering into the living room due to the overcast skies outside. He shuffled over to the window and parted the curtains. Outside he saw gray clouds that coincidentally matched his dreary mood. The ground was still damp with moisture from the storms that ravaged the city last night. He saw tree limbs littering the ground and a few downed power lines that were causing a traffic backup at the cross streets down the way.

Reid turned back around and realized that his apartment had not been spared from the vicious storms and he too was lacking power. He was going to have to pull out the candles from his linen closet if he wanted some semblance of light in the apartment. From his glance out the window he knew the storms were far from over and it was going to get have to get darker before the light would have a chance to break through.

Deciding that he couldn't just sit on the couch all day Reid chose to go take another shower. Again he allowed the hot water course over his skin and he scrubbed his epidermis bare. He could still feel residue from John polluting his body and he wasn't sure if he could ever scrape it all away. When he got out of the steaming hot liquid he noticed that his body was bright red and raw. Upon seeing that he felt reassured that he was another layer of skin away from John.

Reid decided not to get dressed in his normal clothes, opting instead for his pajamas. He threw on a robe and decided to go and fetch the mail. He knew that it wasn't really appropriate to be walking around in his PJs but he couldn't be bothered to throw on clothes for the strangers he might encounter on his way to the mailbox.

As he made his way down to the lobby of the apartment building he realized that none of his friends had called him at all this morning. In the past his team would have hounded him day and night making sure that he was alright, but his plan to push them away must be working. Reid, happy that his coworkers had gotten the hint worked on unlocking the dull metal box that held his mail.

The cube was brimming with bills, letters, and junk mail. Curiously, he uncovered a small express mailed package nested among the usual pieces of paraphernalia. He pulled everything out and stacked it all in a nice neat pile that would be easy to carry up the flight of stairs.

The genius quickly returned to his apartment and threw everything on the kitchen table. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the fresh pot he brewed before he went out to get the mail. He remembered the package while he was stirring his sugar in the steaming mug. He hadn't ordered anything and his birthday wasn't coming up anytime soon. So who had sent him the parcel?

He grabbed the box and took it to his favorite perch on the couch. The wary agent turned the box over in his hands inspecting the integrity of the package. He noticed that the return address was from Mississippi, but he couldn't fathom who he knew down there. Cautiously he shook the box and listened to an object bouncing around inside of its cardboard walls. He decided that whatever was inside of the box wasn't a threat and that his curiosity demanded that the contents be revealed.

While opening a package was usually a relatively easy task, the lack of working index fingers really put Reid in a unique predicament. He wasn't in any shape to utilize scissors and ripping the box open was also out of the question. So he went in the kitchen and grabbed the knife he kept at his bedside all night and decided to try to saw it open.

The young man placed the box in between his knobby knees and clutched it tightly. In his right hand he held the knife and stabbed it down into the lid of the box. It broke through the cardboard easily and sliced through the thick material with ease. Unfortunately, the control he had over his hand was compromised due to the stiff cast and he accidently nicked his knee with the sharp instrument.

Out of shock he dropped the box down to the ground and clutched his newest injury. The knife had torn through the fabric of his pajamas and left a gouge in his knee. He jumped up when the blood started to well out from between his fingers. Forgetting all about the mystery box he ran off to the bathroom to tend to his newest wound.

Cursing himself for his clumsiness Reid pulled down his pants and analyzed the cut. It wasn't very deep at all and it only required some antibiotics and a large bandage.

"Leave it to you to injure yourself with a knife," Reid muttered aloud to himself in disgust. Couldn't he get anything right?

He limped back out to the couch and saw cause of this whole injury strewn on the floor. Kneeling down to the ground slowly he picked up the box and looked inside.

Nothing.

Wait. There was a folded up piece of paper wedged flattened against the bottom. He reached his encumbered fingers inside and pinched the paper between his right index and middle fingers. Pulling it out he started to get a bad feeling as he slowly unfolded the note.

Panic flooded his body the moment he read the inky red words etched into the piece of paper:

_I'm on my way boy. Consider this a reminder of why they always say, "Don't cross the alligator until after you have crossed the creek."_

_You have definitely crossed me by burning down my house and escaping my island, but rest assured that you haven't safely spanned the creek yet. See you soon._

Pale and shaky, Reid let the letter drop back down to the floor. How did John know where he lived? How close was he? How in the hell was Reid going to defend himself against the man in his injured state?

Reid, in an utter state of terror felt his body collapse off his knees and crumble to the floor. The genius was stunned into a stupor now that his safe sanctuary was being threatened along with his life. Memories started to flash uncontrollably through his mind of the horrors he had endured. He allowed a sob to escape his lips as tears started streaming unbidden down his face.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't go crawling back to the friends he so callously pushed away. He couldn't ask them for help without revealing what really went on out on that prison. And he really didn't want to show them how weak this whole experience had left him

As he contemplated all the thoughts running through his head, he shifted his body around to find a more comfortable position. That was when he realized that there was something hard and sharp poking his bottom. He lifted his right side off the ground and used his injured fingers to grasp the object. The upset agent brought whatever it was up to his face and saw one of the most menacing things he could ever imagine.

There grasped in his broken hand was a four inch long alligator tooth. It had been polished to a perfectly pearly white and filed into a razor-sharp tip.

* * *

Penelope had decided to cut out of work early today. The team didn't have a case to investigate and all of her work was done. Instead of sitting in her lair the rest of the day playing around on her computers, she decided to go visit Reid.

She quickly went and got her early departure approved by Hotch. Next, she went to Derek's office to let him know about her plans.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm off to see Reid," Garcia said after she let herself into Morgan's office.

He looked up and smiled at his favorite girl, "Good. I was worried about him sitting alone all day wallowing in his memories."

"I know. I'm super worried about him. And you know how I get when I'm worried. This momma bird needs to go care for her baby and nurse him back to health," she said in a forced perky voice.

"I hope he lets you," Morgan replied, hoping that Garcia had an easier time with Reid than he did last night.

"Me too," she agreed quietly. "Alright, I'll call you later to fill you in on all the details."

"Thanks sweetness. Good luck," Morgan called as his baby-girl walked out the door.

* * *

Garcia slowly walked up the wooden staircase to the genius's apartment. With every step she felt more and more nervous. Would Reid turn her away? Would he yell at her for bothering him? Would he even answer the door at all?

The blonde had a gift basket in her arms that she had to put down when she reached his door. The colorful woman fisted her hand and knocked on the door with confidence. Silence reigned in the hallway as she waited for her tortured friend to answer the door. A minute passed by and Garcia started to get a little worried. She was positive that her favorite boy wouldn't have ventured out of the apartment so soon after his trauma. She decided to knock again.

After three quick thumps on the wooden barrier she called out, "Reid? Reid, it's me, Garcia. I just wanted to check on you. Come on…open the door. I brought some goodies with me."

She listened closely with her ear glued to the door. Inside she could hear what sounded like a panicked movements and a rustling sound.

She knocked again and called, "I can hear you in there 187. Please open the door. I'm really worried about you."

Garcia only had to wait a few more seconds before she heard the sound of the deadbolt unlocking.

When the door opened she was shocked at what she saw. Before her stood a shell of the man she used to know. The usually pale genius looked sallow standing in the darkened doorway. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot and droopy. His usual clothes were nowhere to be seen as he had chosen to don the rattiest pair of old pajamas that he could find. What concerned her most though was the fact that his whole body was trembling from head to toe.

"What do you want Garcia?" Reid asked.

"Well hello to you too sweetie! I just came by to see how you were. I've been worried out of my mind and I wanted to see you for myself. Look! I brought you some homemade baked goods," she trilled cheerfully trying to lighten the mood.

Garcia pushed her way past Reid and into his apartment, not waiting for an invitation. She knew that Reid wasn't going ask her in, so she decided not to give him the choice. Once she got inside she noticed the gloomy atmosphere enveloped her genius's home.

"Why is it so dark in here? We need to turn on some lights because those storms aren't going anywhere," she said as she made her way to the nearest lamp.

"Don't bother. The power is out."

"Oh…well, do you have any candles?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Well why don't we get them out? They should help brighten this place up a bit," she suggested as she walked around inspecting his living conditions.

"No. I'm saving them until later," Reid answered as shortly as possible.

"Okay. Here, sit down and relax. I'm going to grab you a glass of milk and bring you some of my new chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes to snack on," she said cheerfully as she wandered into the kitchen.

Reid didn't say anything as he sat back down on the couch. When he had heard the doorbell ring he had quickly shoved the alligator tooth along with the ominous letter into his pajama pants pocket. Now he could feel the sharpened fang poking his thigh reminding him not to let his guard down.

Garcia waddled into the room carrying the promised milk and cupcakes. She plopped down on the couch next to her favorite genius and placed the drinks and snacks on the coffee table. She turned to look at him and gave him another once over, "So, how are you doing?"

Reid snorted at the stupidity behind the question. How did she think he was doing? "I'm fine."

"Come on Reid. I can tell that you're not fine. You can talk to me. I'll just listen," Garcia offered hoping that the genius would get comfortable enough to open up.

"If you knew that I wasn't fine than why did you ask?" he questioned with a snarky tone.

Taken a bit aback by the Reid's query Garcia stumbled around to find a suitable answer, "I just wanted to give you a chance to bring up whatever is bothering you."

"Well, I don't want to talk about it," Reid answered.

"Alright…what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Nothing," was his quick reply.

"Here eat a cupcake," she said as she shoved one of the frosted concoctions in his face, deciding that this course of questioning was getting her nowhere.

He crinkled his nose at the sight of the pastry and shook his head, "I'm really not that hungry right now."

Her face fell a little at his rejection but she tried not to let his cranky attitude get to her. She knew that he was trying push her away with his terrible disposition, but she refused to let it get to her. After a few minutes of silence in which Garcia munched on one of her own cupcakes she decided that she needed to turn up her aggression.

"Okay boy wonder. I didn't come here just to mope around with you all afternoon. Go get dressed. You and I are going out for a while," she ordered as she nudged him up off the couch.

"Out? No…I'd rather just stay in today. My um…my injuries are acting up and I don't want to aggravate them any further by going out," he said.

"No way am I accepting that excuse. Now go get dressed," Garcia prodded refusing to let him sit down again.

Knowing that the colorful woman wasn't going to give up, Reid sighed in defeat and went to do as told. Perhaps if he acted more normal she wouldn't keep him out too long. So he put on his usual garb and went back out into the living room. There he found the technical analyst inspecting the remains of the package that arrived earlier today. Upset that she had been so nosy as to rummage through his mail, he cleared his throat and waited for her to put the box down.

"What did you get from Mississippi?" she asked unaware that it was a sore subject.

"Just a message from a friend," he said cryptically.

"What's her name?" Garcia said playfully.

"Garcia, can we just go please? The sooner we go out the sooner I can come back home," he said purposefully.

"Oh stop being such a downer. Trust me, you're going to have fun and forget all about whatever it is that's bothering you," she promised as they made their way out the apartment door.

* * *

John smiled as he saw the "Welcome to Virginia" greet him as he cruised over the border into the state. He was making excellent time today due to the fact that he left in the early hours of the morning. He only stopped once the whole day for food and to relieve himself. Other than that he was quite the road warrior, zipping through traffic without a care in the world.

His visit to the adult novelty store last night had been quite enlightening. John had never ventured into one of those specialty shops before and was surprised at all the different toys that were available. He had wandered the aisles picturing his boy in all sorts of filthy scenarios. He almost had to leave the store to take care of himself at one point during his shopping trip, but he managed to get his body under control. Honestly, he could have spent hundreds of dollars in there getting some pretty kinky toys to try out on his slave, but he showed some restraint. Instead he limited his haul to three items that would promise the most fun at first. After he recaptured his prize he could always go back to another store and stock up on all the fun things he left of the shelves.

A clap of thunder brought John out of his thoughts as the sky started to pour down large drops of rain. He looked at Maybell's GPS unit and saw that he had about an hour left in his trip. It was perfect timing as far as he was concerned. He should get to the boy's apartment just after sundown and that would give him the whole night to enjoy with his toy.

The large man planned to use the agent's keys to let himself into the boy's apartment. Of course he would listen at the door first to see if the kid had any company. Hopefully the young man would be alone and John would be able to take him by surprise. Or, the boy might not even be home and then John could lie in wait in the darkened apartment and surprise the kid with his presence. Either situation would be fine with the big man as long as in the end he had his prize wrapped up in a neat little package and ready for transportation back to the bayou.

* * *

Garcia kept Reid out for most of the day. She took the genius to all of the places that she knew he loved. First, they spent time at the local bookstore browsing the new releases. Next, she took him to his favorite Italian restaurant to see if he would cave in and eat something, but he ended up just pushing around the food that he ordered. Then they went to the theater to watch the new comic book based movie that had come out. It was dark out by the time the movie was over so she suggested they go to the local coffee shop for a drink.

Reluctantly Reid allowed her to drag him all around the city. There was just something about Garcia that made it difficult to say no to her. She had a way of making you feel guilty for turning her down. So he followed her to wherever she led and kept his head down and mouth shut.

The whole afternoon Reid kept good on his promise to himself and didn't talk a whole lot. He answered every question in as few words as possible. He never once started a conversation or made a suggestion as to what they should do next. The skinny agent could tell his colleague was getting frustrated with his lack of words, but he wasn't going to cave in that easy.

The plus side of keeping silent was the fact that he was able to contemplate what he was going to do about the message he got today. He knew that he was wasting the perfect opportunity to tell someone about John's threats, but he couldn't convince himself to open up. He should be able to handle this on his own. If he was proactive about upping the security at his apartment and slept lightly he would be prepared for the man. His gun would be at his side and John wouldn't know what hit him. Then Reid would officially obtain his revenge and bury his secret along with his tormentor's body. The team would stop worrying about him and he could move past this whole ordeal.

"Reid? Reid!" he heard Garcia call from across the small coffee shop table.

"Oh…sorry. I was just thinking about something," Reid said.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Garcia offered.

"Nah…it was nothing."

Garcia looked deep into her little brother's eyes and searched for a better answer. Exasperated with his closed off attitude she decided to bite the bullet and ask the tough question, "Reid, what happened out on that island that was so bad that you feel like you have to push us all away?"

Surprised by her bluntness Reid struggled to find a satisfactory answer, "I….noth…nothing. I mean, I already told you guys what happened. There is nothing left to tell."

"We all know that's not true. Look, Morgan told us about your other injury. He didn't give us any details but he let us know that you are hiding something."

"He what?"

"He told us you have more injuries than you're letting on," Garcia said.

"He…he had no right! I told him that in confidence. I can't believe I trusted him," Reid choked out hurt by his best friend's betrayal.

"He wasn't trying to break your confidence Reid. We're just all super worried about you and we want to help. You know how I get when one of my babies is hurting. I'm worried sick about you! I can't sleep and all I can think about is you. I can't be happy knowing that you're not," Garcia said trying to appeal to him.

As he processed her words he felt his anger skyrocket. "Well, I'm so sorry that you're losing sleep over me."

"Reid, that's not what I meant…" she trailed off worried that he had taken her words the wrong way.

"Oh really, from over here it sounded like you were saying that my misery was burdening you. That I'm troubling you so much that your annoyingly chipper persona is suffering. How inconsiderate of me to need time to recover from my second kidnapping which occurred not long after I lost the love of my life. I'm sorry Garcia. I'll do my best to be as ebullient as possible around you from now on. I wouldn't want my problems to be the reason you don't feel like flirting with Morgan anymore," Reid ranted as he misconstrued her words.

"Reid, no…I just meant that your pain is our pain. We all just want you to get better, and you know that talking about it is the first step to healing," Garcia tried to clarify as tears from his harsh words welled up in her eyes.

"So you're saying that I'm making the rest of the team miserable too? Look I've got a good solution to this problem. LEAVE ME ALONE! You and the rest of the team need to just butt out of my business and let me deal with it. I'll handle my healing without you guys," he bellowed as he got up from the table and stormed out of the café.

Garcia, shocked at how upset her genius had gotten quickly pulled out her phone. She dialed Morgan's number as fast as possible though the tears were obscuring her vision. She had done a lot of harm during that conversation and Derek was going to have to run damage control.

* * *

Reid decided to walk home from the coffee shop. The fresh air and exercise would help him clear his head and decide what to do next. There was a little bit of drizzle coming down and Reid knew that it was just the beginning of another round of storms that were about to roll through. He chose to ignore the annoying moisture and continued his private walk in peace.

The angry agent knew that he had handled the conversation in the café poorly, but he couldn't control the words from flowing out of his mouth. He knew that he had hurt the flamboyant blonde with his accusations and reactions, but maybe now the team would really leave him alone for a while.

Halfway through the walk Reid's phone started to go off and Morgan's name was illuminated on the screen. Instead of answering the phone and receiving Morgan's wrath at how he treated Garcia, Reid powered down the devise and pocketed it next to the alligator tooth that he had brought with him.

Tomorrow, he decided he was going to visit the local hardware store and buy new locks for his doors. He would have the superintendent of the apartment building install them as soon as possible along with a new alarm system. That way if John tried to infiltrate his apartment he would met with a new set of heavy duty locks and an alarm system that would immediately alert the police.

Excited at the prospect of being ahead of the game for once Reid walked into the apartment building foyer and started up the flight of stairs that led to his home. It was still early in the evening, but the genius was exhausted from the day's impromptu activities.

When he started unlocking the door he began to rethink how harsh he had been with Garcia. He knew that when this was all said and done there would be a lot of things he would have to atone for. Hopefully everyone will forgive him and understand his reasons behind being so secretive.

The door opened with ease and Reid breathed a sigh of relief at finally being home. The apartment was still dark due to the lack of power, but that didn't matter to Reid. He turned back to the door to refasten the deadbolt and listened as it gave a satisfying click to signaling that the entryway was secure.

All of a sudden a beefy hand came out of the darkness and wrapped its meaty fingers around his mouth. Reid tried to let out a muffled scream as he felt a brawny arm bind his arms against his sides and pull him against a muscular chest. He started to struggle in his attackers arms, but deep down he knew his resistance was futile. But he kept on kicking and flailing his feet the whole time he was dragged down the pitch-black hallway into his master bedroom.


	7. A Hopeless Situation

**Hi All! You're reviews were amazing and they were just the motivation I needed to write you another chapter before the weekend was over. Now I can't promise that Chapter 8 will be out with such speed because I am always exhausted after the work day :( Also, I think you're going to be in just as much suspense as you were before *evil smile***

**I am dedicating this chapter to my fellow Reid whump writer Gothina. You're writing rocks and it makes me strive to write better with every chapter I write. But don't think I am forgetting the rest of you faithful reviewers! Thanks to Puppycat Reid, lilly, tea-is-liquid-wisdom, Kasey64, Ruestigma, 50ShadesofMoGubHC, Chrissadox, and my Guest reviewer because you're reviews also brightened my day.**

**Again, forgive my typos. I rushed to write this for you :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Reid knew it was John's large hands that were gripping him tightly and keeping him under control. His heels dragged across the ground as his feet lost purchase on the floor. He kept trying to break the iron grip that was wrapped around his midsection and he even tried biting the hand that was covering his mouth. None of his attempts were successful and before he knew it they were in the master bedroom.

Reid had expected the room to be as black as the hallway but was surprised to find that John had utilized the candles he had gotten out of the linen closet earlier. The scent of fresh cut roses radiated throughout the room originating from the candles. The smell meshed with the soft glow giving the room an almost romantic feel to it.

John stood in front of the bed holding Reid firmly against his chest. He nuzzled his nose into the crook of the genius's neck and inhaled deeply. He started suckling the soft skin that smelled like an ocean breeze trying to mark his territory. Reid let out a moan of displeasure as he tried to yank his head away.

"Shhhh…shhhh. Don't make a sound," John whispered in the boy's ear.

Again Reid tried to break through the hold on him but he was foiled by the man's strength.

"Ah ah ah. I've got you now. It feels like we haven't seen each other in forever. I can't wait to make up for lost time," John murmured as he exerted his control over the boy. "Look at the bed. I came prepared for some fun."

Reid's eyes traveled over the comforter until his gaze settled upon the items that had been laid out almost as if on display. He saw some sort of leather harness object with an air pump attached to it, an extremely large amount of nylon rope, and four inch thick black leather collar.

Fear coursed through Reid's body as the impact of John's words and the objects on the bed registered in his head. He could feel his breathing speed up more than before and he knew that he was going into a panic attack. His mind was starting to get fuzzy at the lack of oxygen and he barely recognized that his body was being forced down onto the bed.

He felt the arms that were surrounding him lift away and free his limbs. The hand on his mouth never left his face though and just adjusted its position when Reid was flipped over onto his back. Reid's newly emancipated hands went up to try to dislodge the suffocating hand, but they were smacked away by John's.

He felt a weight compressing his midsection as John climb onto the bed on top of him. Reid's control over his emotions started to unravel as he realized that this position was eerily familiar to the one he experienced during his first assault. He felt uncontrollable tears leak down his face leaving tracks of salty residue.

"Why are you crying? Aren't you happy to see me? I told you that I'd see you soon. You didn't think I was bluffing did you?" John asked the trapped agent beneath him as he lifted his hand to allow the kid to speak.

"What do you want with me?" Reid choked out.

"I think you know," John responded with a smile.

"No…no please…not again," Reid begged in a tiny voice.

John's eyes roved over the prone genius soaking in his victim's anguish and discomfort. The boy's big eyes were wide and wet with terror arousing John to the point of agony. He wanted to take the kid right then and there, but he needed to get everything set for their escape out of town. First he had to move the car into a spot close to the alley exit of the apartment building. Then he had to ransack all the rooms to make it look like a robbery had occurred. Obviously the other agents would suspect that their colleague had been kidnapped, but they wouldn't know by whom.

"Shhh…I'm not ready to do that yet. I've got a few things to prepare before we have some alone time together. But I'm not going to leave you so loosely restrained as I did last time. You sure did show some creativity in what you did to my house with two broken bound hands and a restricted range of movement on the island. No…this time I'm going to make sure you can't escape. After I'm done getting everything prepared we'll enjoy some time together, and then start our journey back to the bayou. I have a whole new place to take you. And trust me when I say no one will ever be able to find us again," he explained as he caressed Reid's face with his thickset finger. The large man was amazed at the pleasure that surged through his body just from having skin to skin contact with his slave.

"No…I don't want to go with you. Please leave me here with my family," Reid pleaded knowing that it wasn't going to work.

"I can't do that. You belong to me now. Don't you remember? I marked you as my slave. You're my property to do with as I wish. Hush now. I've got to get to work," John said gently as he reached for one of the objects above Reid's head on the bed.

Taking his one opportunity to save himself, Reid yelled out at the top of his lungs, "Help me! Somebody help me!"

John's beefy hand slammed back down over his mouth and a searing anger flooded the man's eyes, "You really shouldn't have done that boy. I forgot how defiant you can be. I guess you leave me no choice but to silence you."

The genius was scared beyond belief when he saw John's free hand reach down into his pants to pull something free. A glint of silver reflected the candle light as the blade of a dagger became visible in front of the big brown eyes. John drew back his hand raising it high into the air and quickly brought down the hilt of the knife knocking it into the young man's temple. Less than a second later the brown eyes closed and the body beneath the lumbering man went limp.

* * *

Morgan answered Garcia's phone call after a few choruses of "Wild Thing" blared through the house.. He was in his back bedroom taping off the molding to get it ready for the navy blue paint he wanted to apply next weekend. He looked at the time on his watch as he answered the phone and was surprised that she was calling already. He had hoped that she and Reid would have ended up talking long into the night sharing all the secrets that had been withheld over the last week.

"Hey baby girl, how did it go?" he asked hopefully.

A sobbing sound was emitted through the earpiece and Morgan started to get worried.

"Garcia? Penelope? What's wrong?" Morgan asked with concern shining through his voice.

"It's…it's Reid. He got really angry at me and stormed out," Garcia managed to choke out.

"Are you alright? Do you need me to come and get you?" Morgan asked trying to make sure she was okay before he allowed her to go on with the story.

"Do you mind if I come over?" she asked pitifully.

"Of course you can. But are you sure you're okay to drive?" he inquired not wanting her to get into an accident because she was so upset.

"I'll be fine. I just need calm down a bit and then I'll drive over," Garcia said.

"Okay, I'll see you soon. Call me if you need anything."

"I will," she promised as she hung up.

* * *

Once he had hung up the phone with Garcia dialed Reid's number. What had Reid done to make Garcia cry? She was the most gentle and caring person that he knew in the world. It must have been some cruel treatment to cause her to break. But instead of assuming that Reid was being cold and insensitive he was going to give the genius a chance to explain what happened.

The phone rang through to voicemail and Morgan hung up. He dialed the number again and instead of ringing it went straight to the voicemail indicating that Reid had turned off his phone. Frustrated, Morgan threw his phone down on the table and started pacing the kitchen waiting for Garcia to arrive.

A tentative knock on the door told Morgan that his girl had arrived. He quickly answered the door not wanting to leave her out in the dark for long. Upon opening the heavy wooden door he saw a disheveled and distraught Garcia. Her face was streaked with mascara and the rest of her makeup was smudged. It looked like she had been running her hands through her hair causing it to stand up in an uncharacteristically Garcia way.

He opened his arms at the sight of her and she quickly went in for a much needed hug. They stood there in the entryway for a few minutes, one giving comfort the other receiving it. Eventually, Morgan loosened his grip and stepped back to allow her access to the home.

"Come in and sit down. Can I get you something to drink?" he asked wanting to take care of her.

"No…I'm fine. I just need to tell you what happened," Garcia answered as she sat down on his black leather couch.

He took the seat next to her and wrapped his right arm around his shoulders imparting as much reassurance as he could.

"Take your time and let it out," Morgan instructed his favorite girl.

"Well…I could tell right away this afternoon that Reid wasn't in the mood to talk. The second I got to his apartment he was standoffish and slightly rude. I could tell right away that he was hiding something like you and Hotch thought. So I pushed my way into his apartment and tried to work my Garcia magic by forcing my delicious baked goods on him. He refused to eat any of them. So I insisted that he get dressed and told him that I was going to take him out on the town," she explained.

"Okay, that doesn't sound so bad. He had an attitude with me too," Morgan conceded.

"I took him all over the place to all of his favorite hangouts. We visited the library, the Italian restaurant, the movies and then the coffee shop. He was quiet for most of the day only giving me one word answers if possible. Never once did he start a conversation and he didn't seem to enjoy anything that we did. So once we had our coffee and sat down at a little table in the café, I decided to come out and ask him what happened out on the island. He tried to tell me that we knew all there was to know, but I wouldn't accept that answer. I told him we were all worried about him and that I was having a hard time knowing he was hurting. He overreacted to my words and accused me of blaming him for making my life miserable. He flipped out Morgan and shouted at me. I've never heard such insulting words come out of his mouth before. I didn't know that Reid had that type of anger inside of him," Garcia sniveled as she vividly remembered the confrontation.

"It's kinda how he reacted to me last night. The second I started pushing him to talk he responded with anger and hostility. I was hoping that he would be better with you, but I guess not," Morgan said as he pulled her in for another hug.

"I'm so scared for him Morgan. Whatever happened is eating him alive and he's too stubborn to accept our help. How are we ever going to get our genius to open up?" she asked.

"As soon as were done here I am going to go over to his place and force him to open up. I'll handcuff him to the chair if I have to, but I'm not going to leave until he tells me the truth. I stood by and let him self-destruct after Tobias kidnapped him. I'll be damned if I let him do it again," Morgan vowed to Garcia.

"Good, because if anything is going to get through to that big brain of his it's your persuasion. Look, I'm calmed down enough now. I'm going to go home and you get over to baby genius's house. Let me know what happened in the morning," Garcia said as she got herself ready to go.

Morgan grabbed his keys and followed her out the door. "I'll call you and Hotch tomorrow to fill you in on the details. If this goes late into the night I might call off tomorrow to stay with him."

"Good luck sweet cheeks," she said as she planted an innocent kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for letting me come over and for comforting me too."

"Anytime baby girl," he said as he closed her car door after she slid inside of her vintage vehicle.

He watched as her red taillights faded off in the distance before hopping into his own car. He quickly threw the vehicle into reverse and backed out of the drive without looking. Unfortunately, he backed right into a passing vehicle. His plans to confront Reid were going to have to be put off for a little while longer.

* * *

Reid blinked his eyes a few times upon waking up. His head was killing him as he noticed an ache originating from above his left temple. He tried to bring a hand to massage the location of his injury but neither of them would move.

It was then that he realized that he was restrained on top of his own bed. He was lying on his stomach facing the headboard. Both hands were tied together at the wrists behind his back. He could feel the nylon rope rubbing against his skin and his fingers were no longer stiff. John must have removed the casts on both of his hands before he tied him up, that way it wouldn't be easy for him to slip out of the rope bindings.

He could feel even more rope wrapped around his elbows and up to mid biceps forcing his arms to come together as close as possible. His ankles, knees and thighs were bound in the same manner, tight and with little room for movement. Reid could tell that there was a short length of rope attaching his wrists and ankles to each other, forcing his legs to be bent up and backward. Finally, the four inch thick posture collar was encircling his neck making his head sit in a rigid upward position. There were three D-rings attached to the collar and through two of them John had weaved the rope before attaching it too to his bound ankles and wrists. Reid was effectively hogtied and helpless.

To make matters worse, the third item that had been on the bed before Reid had passed out was also fully implemented on the genius's body. It was a very effect tool for silencing victims; it was a butterfly gag. This particular type of gag was one that is inserted into someone's mouth and inflated with an air pump. The thick latex balloon expands and forces the tongue to stay in place. In order to keep the victim from pushing it out there is a buckle that fastens behind the head, and from what Reid could feel it was pulled as tight as possible.

The helpless agent struggled for a few minutes hoping that something would loosen with all of his movements. He tried to move his wrists back and forth without upsetting his broken fingers but all he succeeded in doing was ensuring that he would have a vicious rope burn when this was all over. He couldn't pull on his legs and feet because it would pull the rope that connected to his neck back and it would cut off his air supply. John wasn't kidding earlier when he said that he was going to make sure Reid wouldn't be able to escape.

In the end though he gave up his exertions and admitted defeat. Again he could feel his emotions break free as tears of humiliation and frustration dripped down the same tracks as before. This was his entire fault and he had no one to blame but himself. If he wouldn't have let his damn pride get in the way maybe he wouldn't be alone right now facing down the same horrors as before. Maybe he should have figured out a way to reveal that John was stalking him without mentioning the rape. Or he could have just trusted his friends and allowed them in on his degradation. He shook his head at that thought, because even now he could feel a blush of embarrassment highlight his cheeks at the thought of his coworkers knowing that he had been debased at the hands of John Brookins.

Throughout Reid's musings he allowed his hands to explore their range of movement. He could dip them down to rest on his back but that also pulled his feet down too. Fortunately this rested position did not pull on his collar too much and his breathing was not restricted.

The bound genius could feel the fabric of his pants brush against his fingers when an idea popped into his brain. He was still wearing the same clothes as earlier, and if John hadn't searched him than maybe his phone was still in his pocket. Perhaps he could contort his body in such a way that would allow him access to it.

He worked on rocking his body to the side to expose the pocket. Once he was successful he started to pull against the ropes and tried to get his broken fingers to reach inside the pesky compartment. At one point he pushed his luck and stretched too far causing the collar to constrict against his throat cutting off his air. He quickly rectified the situation and sat still for a few moments trying to catch his breath through his nose.

He was in the middle of his second attempt when John opened the door to the room and saw his position. A laugh escaped the large man's lips as he realized what Reid was trying to do. "Looking for this?" John asked taunting Reid with the tiny cell phone he held up for the genius to see.

Disappointment crashed through the puppy dog eyes and a small moan sprang out of his throat. "Look boy, I may not be as smart as you, but I wasn't born yesterday. So how do you like the new collar? It's great isn't it? There are so many different things we can explore with it. And while I was getting it I stocked up on that fancy rope and gag. There were also so many different books with tons of ideas of how to spice up our life in the bed. I got so many good ideas from just browsing the pages. Do you want to try some of them out right now?" John asked knowing that his slave wouldn't be able to answer.

Reid managed to move his chin back and forth again and gave another moan. John smiled and said, "Perfect. I was hoping you were up for this."

The alligator hunter approached the bed and sat next to the immobile boy. He used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tear residue and brushed a stray bang behind the boy's ear. John then bent over and planted a gentle kiss on the top of Reid's forehead and whispered, "I'm never going to let you go. You're too special to waste on everyone else. I know exactly how to treat you and I'm going to give you just what you deserve."

Reid squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the man begin to unbutton his shirt. This wasn't happening again! He knew that he would never recover from being assaulted in his own home. They might as well put him into a sanitarium once this was all said and done.

Blessedly, John was in the middle of rubbing his chest and fondling his pink pert nipples when a pounding came from the front door. Reid's eyes flew open as he strained to yell out against the gag. John smirked at the boy's attempts to make a sound but his face flashed worry when the pounding came again.

"Did you invite someone over tonight?" he hissed at Reid.

Reid just blinked, not giving John the satisfaction of a moaned answer.

"Reid! Reid, it's Morgan. We need to talk about what happened with Garcia. Open up! I know you're in there!" the strong voice of his best friend came clearly down the hall.

Both head's turned as they heard a crashing sound that originated from the front door being kicked in by the muscular agent.

* * *

Morgan stood outside of Reid's apartment and listened closely for any sign of the geeky agent hidden behind the door. He knew he had to be in there. The kid hadn't wanted to leave the house to begin with, so there was no way that he was roaming about on the streets this late at night.

Deciding that he would just have to pay back the super of the apartment for the damage he was about to do, Morgan took a step back and kicked in the flimsy door.

The apartment was pitch-black due to the local power outage. Morgan was surprised that the kid hadn't even bothered to light any candles or leave a flashlight on to ward off the dark.

"Reid? Reid, where are you?" he called into the silent depths of the abode.

Maybe he had made a mistake and his best friend wasn't at home yet. Feeling sheepish Morgan went to leave when a mellow light caught his eye. It was coming from Reid's bedroom at the end of the hallway.

He spoke out loudly to make sure his buddy heard him coming, "Reid, I'm coming down to your room. I think it's time we had a real talk."

The door to the bedroom was mostly closed. It was cracked open a little bit, which had allowed the dim light that alerted Morgan to its presence escape. He didn't hear a response come from his depressed friend and figured that the kid might be sleeping.

"Pretty boy?" he said as he pushed the door open revealing a scene out of one of his nightmares.

Before him on the queen sized bed laid a bound and gagged Reid. His friend was turned on his side and he was trying to shake his head to and fro but a large collar was preventing much movement. He could hear tiny groans stem from his friend and his large eyes were wide with fright.

The horrified agent raced over to the bed heedless of the danger that might still be lurking in the apartment. Once he reached his friend he turned the kid onto his stomach to access the ropes that were binding him, "Don't worry Reid. I'll get you out of this. Then we'll work on finding-" Morgan's words were cut off as the same knife hilt that knocked Reid out made contact with his head.

The hit didn't knock Morgan out like it did Reid, but it did manage to cause him some disorientation. He turned around and grabbed the hand that was responsible for hitting him. He then pushed the man into the wall behind him and nailed him with a punch in the jaw.

John, not to be outdone, kicked out his leg and hooked Morgan's knee causing the other agent to fall. He tackled the dark man to the ground and started hitting him multiple times in the face. Morgan, who found himself in a rare vulnerable position tried to buck the man off of him, but wasn't successful. It took only one more hit with the knife hilt to knock the tough agent out all-together rendering him useless in the fight to rescue Reid.


	8. His Own Savior

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the show or make any money off of it.**

**Hi all! I hope you are having a great weekend! Thanks to everyone for commenting, following, and favoriting the story. The story is winding down now and you should only expect to see a few more chapters. I really hope you like how this chapter turns out!**

**Please forgive any stupid mistakes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The moment he heard the door crash open he knew it was Morgan. The feelings that he experienced when he knew that his friend was there were varied. At first he felt relief that someone was there to save him from his worst nightmare, but then he felt humiliation course through him. He didn't want his friend to see him in such a vulnerable predicament.

"Reid? Reid, where are you?" he heard Derek call down the hall. He closed his eyes and wished he could make a sound to warn his best friend that there was danger afoot.

"Reid, I'm coming down to your room. I think it's time we had a real talk."

John held his finger up to his lips in a mocking way trying to remind Reid to be quiet, even though the genius couldn't make a sound if he wanted to. Reid's eyes followed the large man to where he hid behind the door, so that when Morgan entered he wouldn't see him lurking behind him.

The door pushed open and Morgan's face was painted in shock. Reid tried to shake his head to tell him not to come in, but his best friend paid him no heed. The gagged agent even tried to make some warning sounds but they just came out as tiny moans. Reid knew that this wasn't going to end well when Morgan raced over to him and flipped him on his stomach.

He could hear Morgan start to say something about getting him out of this but then his friend's voice was cut off by a grunt. He felt the agent's hands leave his body and he heard his friend fall to the ground. Unfortunately, Reid couldn't see what was happening due to his position on his stomach. The collar prevented him from turning his head and he started to rock his body to flip back over onto his side. He could hear the struggle between the two men and prayed that Morgan would come out on top.

A sudden silence cloaked the room a few seconds later. Reid knew that the fight was over and he hoped that the right man had won. He cringed when he heard John's maniacal laughter break the noiseless lull.

Finally, he managed to flip over onto his left side again and he was rewarded with a limited view of the room. John stood up and looked a little disheveled as a result of the fight he just had with Morgan. There was a bruise developing on his jaw line and his hair was tousled, but other than that he looked fine.

"Now that was fun," John gloated to his captive, "I hope you weren't banking on him saving you. He's out cold. All I've got to do now is decide what to do with him."

Reid's heart started to beat faster as his mind came up with all types of things that John might do to his best friend. The worst thing that flitted through his brain was that John would kill Morgan to protect his identity and make it impossible for the team to track him when he left with Reid.

John walked over to the bed and sat next to Reid. He started to gently caress the young man as he started at the boy's face and trailed his fingers down his exposed chest. The spiderlike fingers stopped right at Reid's waistline and fumbled with the buttons to the genius's pants.

"Let's get back to where we were before we were rudely interrupted by your friend," John said gently as he unzipped the brass tongs holding Reid's pants together at the waist.

Reid bucked his body back and forth and moaned from his throat to display his displeasure at the thought of continuing with his inevitable rape. John's hands quickly lifted off the boy's pants and he smacked the agent across the face with the back of his hand.

"You will not defy me boy. It's time you recognize your true master. You've been mine since the moment I slipped that snare around your neck. Of course I didn't realize at the time what a treasure I had trapped, but ever since that sweet night we spent together I can't get your image out of my head. Do you realize how beautiful you are? You have the most amazing complexion, the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen, and even trussed up and helpless you exude an irresistible exquisiteness. How could anyone pass you up?" John gushed as he started to massage the spot on the boy's cheek that he had hit.

Reid, having no other choice but to lay there and listen, could tell by John's words that as long as the hunter was living Reid would never be safe. Even if he were to escape right now and John was arrested he would still obsess over the agent. The only way to end this unhealthy fixation was for one or both of them to die.

"I know that I'll never be able to let you go. The problem is your defiant streak. You still haven't accepted your subservient position. So how do I get you to accept your place?" John asked as he fiddled with the D-ring on the front of the collar.

The large man looked around as he pondered his own question. He knew he had to break the boy of all his hope and rebelliousness. So what could he do to cause the young man to give up his fight? His eyes landed on Morgan and an idea popped into his head.

"I know what'll do the trick. I'm going to wait for your friend over there to wake up and then force him to watch as I have my way with you. Then, when we're all done with our fun I'll kill him," John said with a wicked smile on his face as he peered into Reid's eyes to see his reaction.

Reid squeezed his eyes tightly shut at John's words. His best friend was going to be forced to watch his rape and then be killed afterward. He knew that John was right; if anything was going to break him it was the mortification of being debased in front of his friend and then his friend's ultimate demise.

The lumbering man pushed himself off the bed, left the room and came back moments later with some more rope. He dragged Morgan over to the dresser and propped him up against the middle drawers. Then he wrapped some rope around each of Morgan's wrists and tied them to their respective legs of the oak dresser. Even if Morgan did wake up he wouldn't be able to lift the hulking piece of furniture in order to get his hands free. Finally, John took one of Reid's ties from his closet and used it to gag the unconscious agent.

Once the dark man was fully restrained John went back to Reid and turned him around on the bed so that he was facing Morgan, "Here. This way he can see you better when he wakes up. I'm going to go get us some supplies for our road trip. I really didn't hit him that hard, so he should be awake by the time I get back. Then we'll finish up here and head out."

Reid listened as John exited the apartment. He was surprised to hear the door close, especially since he knew that Morgan had kicked in the barrier in order to get into the apartment. By all means it should have been broken beyond use. Speaking of Morgan, Reid took a good look at his friend and saw a cut on his temple that was oozing blood down the right side of his face.

Knowing that his head wound wouldn't be the worst thing that Morgan faced tonight Reid started to panic. He couldn't let Morgan get killed all because of his stupid decision not to tell the team that John was taunting him. It was all his fault that they were both in this quandary in the first place, he knew it was his responsibility to get them out of it. But how?

He needed a way to get out of the bindings that confined him. Unfortunately, there was no way that he could just get up and walk down the hallway to fetch a knife. He tried working his hands back and forth to loosen the rope but that didn't work either. Then it dawned on the genius, there was a sharpened alligator tooth snuggled tightly in his pocket. He just had to find a way to get it out.

So again, Spencer rocked his body until he was propped up on his side with the pocket exposed. Last time when he tried reaching for his phone his broken fingers got close to getting inside, but the collar pulled tightly against his neck and cut off his air supply. He knew that he was going to have to deal with the lack of air in order to thrust his fingers deeper into the pants pocket.

He started squirming around and got his hands in a good position. It was going to hurt his fingers like hell to force them to work in their healing state, but he needed to do it. He took a deep breath in through his nose and started straining against the rope in order to get his bound hands close to their destination. He could feel the fabric brush against the tips of the fingers of his right hands when he ran out of air and allowed them to fall back into their regular position. He pulled his legs down as close to his body as he could in order to put extra slack into the rope and tried again.

This time the fingers were able to hook into the pocket and wiggle around a bit. He felt the smooth tip of the tooth stroke against his broken right index finger. He tried to curl his finger around the tooth to hook it but he only succeeded in pushing it deeper into the pocket.

Frustrated, he pulled his hands back again in order to regroup. He needed to hurry because even if he was successful in retrieving the tooth it was going to take a while to saw through the ropes. It was in the middle of his mental pep talk that Reid heard Morgan start to moan. The fact that his friend was coming around renewed his strength and motivated him to try again.

This time Reid pulled so hard against the rope that his neck was almost pulled back to its breaking point. The extra rope was just what he needed to send his right hand fingers back into the pocket and this time both the index and middle finger were able to hook around the tooth. He quickly extracted them from the pocket as he flipped back over onto his stomach. He lay there a few seconds sucking in air through his nostrils trying to make up for cutting off his supply a few moments ago.

He did it! Here in the palm of his right hand was his salvation. Carefully he turned it in his hands and gripped the object so the sharpened point was facing outwards. He couldn't afford to drop the tooth now because that simple mistake would sentence Morgan to his death. Concentrating very hard, Reid used his left hand to pull some of the rope close to the tooth and started jabbing the instrument into the nylon. He knew it was going to take some time so he blocked out all other thoughts and set his mind on freedom.

* * *

The first thought that entered Morgan's mind was how much his head hurt. There was a stabbing pain emanating from above his right eye. The agent tried to move his hand to massage the wound but realized that it was caught on something. His eyes flew open at the realization that his wrist was not caught but rather fastened to something.

He immediately noticed his best friend prone on the bed right in front of him. The sight of his trussed up friend sent daggers into Morgan's heart. Reid didn't deserve to go through this, especially after just getting free from that creep down on the bayou. How the hell did John find out where Reid lived? And how did he make it all the way up here from Louisiana without a car?

Alas, those questions would go unanswered, seeing as how the only two people that could shed some light on the situation were unable to right now. John was nowhere to be seen and Reid was still gagged with that monstrosity. Morgan's eyes flitted over Reid again and noticed that the boy's eyes were closed but he could tell that a part his body that was out of sight was moving.

"R…d," Morgan tried to call out through the cloth gag trying to get his friend's attention. He was sort of successful because cloth gags are not very useful when trying to prevent the victim from speaking; usually they just muffle the sound.

"Reid, are you okay?" he asked with garbled words.

Spencer's eyes slowly opened and he briefly allowed them to make eye contact with Morgan before he trained them on a spot above his head.

An instant later Morgan heard the thump of Reid's legs hit the bed. He looked at his friend once more and thought he saw a glint of happiness in those brown eyes. But that was before they both heard the front door come crashing open in the living room signaling the return of John Brookins.

Reid paled at the sound and started jerking his body around in a panic. Morgan had no idea what Reid was trying to do, but he knew that the return of their captor had thrown off the boy's plans. He watched with worry as John opened the door and smiled down at his prey.

The large man walked into the room slowly and crouched down next to Morgan, "I see you woke up. Are you ready to watch the fun?"

"You son of a bitch! Let us go!" Morgan shouted through the gag.

John chuckled at the muffled words that the dark agent said, "That's not going to happen. See I have big plans for your friend. I've already got a new place for us down in the bayou and this time no one stands a chance in finding us. As for you…well I've decided to kill you. But don't worry; I'm not going to do it yet. I want you to watch something first."

The hunter stood back up and walked over to the bed where he proceeded to pet Reid's hair as the other agent, who at some point positioned himself on his side, stilled. John began to fondle Reid's exposed chest as he leaned down and kissed his pale forehead.

Upon seeing the tender ministrations that the man was giving Reid, Morgan finally realized what his best friend had been trying to hide from everyone. Reid had been assaulted by John out on that island. It all made sense now. His heightened aversion to anyone touching him, the anger he displayed at the team for not looking harder for him, his sudden spouts of anger and irrationality, and the way he had stopped talking to everyone. Spencer had been trying to cope with being raped all by himself. Derek felt his heart break into pieces at the thought of his friend having to deal with something so atrocious.

"Leave him alone," Derek shouted in a muffled manner from behind the gag. He couldn't sit here and watch his friend get assaulted again. Tears were dropping from his eyes as he watched the relentless man plant kisses from Reid's collared neck down to his bellybutton.

John looked at Morgan and winked. He knew exactly what he was doing to the two men he was holding captive. The one tied to the dresser was in sheer agony having to witness the inevitable and the beautiful boy next to him was shaking like a leaf in anticipation of being humiliated in front of his partner.

John shifted his body on the bed and allowed his hands to travel to his slave's unfastened pants. He positioned himself next to the boy's waist and started to scoot the fabric down the boy's thighs, exposing the pair of plaid purple boxers underneath.

Out of nowhere John felt a sharp stab in his neck. His hand quickly went up to the source and felt a gaping hole that was gushing blood. In disbelief he pulled his hand down and saw that it was covered in red. The man looked up and saw that his previously bound slave had somehow managed to get his wrists and forearms free of the rope.

Growling in displeasure John lunged at the boy pushing him down into the mattress. Reid, who was prepared for the onslaught, brought his bound feet up and kicked them out into John's chest throwing him from the bed. Then the genius propped himself up on his elbows and was about to free his feet when a hand came up from the side of the bed and grabbed his ankles pulling him down to the floor alongside the other man.

Reid crashed down into a jumbled heap. He felt John grab his shoulder and push him onto his back. He looked up into the man's eyes and saw anger unparalleled by anything else.

"You think you can escape me? Your little trick was cute but it's not going to get you out of this mess," John said as he wrapped his hands around the collar and pushed down on the center of Reid's throat.

"Reid!" Morgan shouted with worry when he saw that John planned on knocking Reid out by denying him air.

The genius knew that he had to act quickly so he forced his hand up again punctured the skin of John's right arm with the tooth. He then dragged the sharpened fang down the man's arm leaving a deep gash in its wake.

John let out a loud yell at the injury and removed his hand from Reid's throat.

"You little shit," he shouted, "I'm going to make you pay for that."

The hunter flung his body across Reid and straddled him on the ground pinning him from the waist down. He captured both of Spencer's injured hands and forced them above his head. He noticed the white gleam of the alligator fang but left it there since the boy's hands were effectively captured. The man than reached around to the waistband of his pants and pulled out his knife. He traced the blade over the brand in the kid's stomach and said, "Do you want a matching set?"

Reid bucked his hips trying to dislodge the man but he knew it was in vain. The knife tip got close to his stomach and he sucked in his gut trying to put more room between the steel weapon and his precious skin. It was then that Spencer noticed that the hand holding his wrists together above his head was covered in blood, slippery frictionless blood.

The young agent knew what he had to do as he felt the plunge of the knife into his skin just below the first brand that John gave him. He blocked out the pain and the sound of Morgan's cries as he focused all his strength into his arms.

With the alligator fang gripped as tightly as ever, Reid jerked his right hand free of the bloody grasp and directed his aim at John's face. He watched in an almost dreamlike state as his right fist glided toward John's eye and plunged the fang as deep into the socket as he could.

John just sat there for a second in shock before he fell forward on top of the genius. Reid felt a searing pain sizzle through his abdomen as the knife that John was using to carve into his skin sunk in to the hilt under the large man's dead weight.


	9. Let Me Go

**Disclaimer: No own.**

**Hi all! I hope you've been having a great weekend. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! I loved reading every single one of them. You guys are amazing! I'm thinking at most there are two chapters left. BTW I tried to research some of the medical stuff I used, but if it's inaccurate please forgive me. I'm definitely not a medical professional so I just winged it the best I could. So anyways, there are at most two chapters left. Can't believe that this whole story progression is almost done. I hope you like this chapter, and I look forward to hearing from you.**

**Oh, before I forget, I want to credit the ending of this chapter to Graysonation. She gave me the idea in her review. Thanks a bunch! **

**Please forgive any mistakes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Reid didn't know how long he had passed out for, but when he finally came back to the world of the living all he felt was pain. He could hear a muffled plea come from somewhere behind him, so he tried to flip over. It was then that he realized that there was a large weight holding him down. He gently cracked his eyes open and saw the lifeless face of John Brookins staring back at him.

He tried to scream but nothing came out because he was still gagged with the monstrosity that John had used on him earlier. The scream died in his throat as the memories of what occurred before he passed out assaulted his brain.

He had killed John. The skinny agent that everyone thought was weak had jabbed the alligator tooth right into that bastard's eye and on into his brain. There was no way someone could survive that, and the fact that John's body wasn't respiring was proof of that. So why did he feel like shit? Why was there a shooting pain spreading out from his abdomen?

He could still hear the stifled voice calling out and realized that it was Morgan. He knew that his friend was trying to get his attention, but he chose to ignore him. Before he even confronted his friend he first needed to get John's huge body off of his small and fragile one. For, his breathing underneath the lumbering man was restricted and he needed to figure out what was causing all his pain.

The wiry boy set all his strength into his two scrawny arms and used them to push the obese body off of his frame. He heard the thump as John hit the ground next to him but he paid it no mind. Instead he set his injured hands on a journey across his body to find the source of the pain.

His breathing became erratic the second his left hand made contact with the steel handle of a knife. It was the same knife that John was going to use to carve another word into his body. His broken fingers explored the weapon and found only the hilt and no blade. He wrapped his fingers around the handle and made to pull it out when he was interrupted by Morgan's muffled, "No, Reid. Don't do it!"

He knew his friend was worried about him bleeding out once the knife was removed. While that didn't seem like such a bad premise, Reid couldn't leave Morgan tied helplessly to his dresser with nothing to look at but the dead bodies of John Brookins and the former genius himself. Then and there Reid decided that his death could be put on hold until he released at least one of his best friend's hands.

The injured agent tried to crane his neck backwards to see how far away Morgan was, but the neck collar prevented such movement. He reached his left arm backwards and tried to feel around. Suddenly he felt the nudge of a shoe on his palm. Reid knew that the dresser wasn't too far behind him and that he only needed to scoot back a few feet to get within a working range.

The genius knew that he couldn't sit up because he would upset the knife wound, so he quickly worked out a method to transport his battered body to the desired location. Exhausted but determined to help his friend out, Reid pulled his bound legs up and planted his feet into the ground. He then pushed his body backwards across the carpet and toward his best friend. It took only a few rounds of pushing before Reid's head felt a gentle hand cushioning his head from the hard wooden leg of the dresser.

Using his last ounce of strength, Reid flipped onto his left side and was finally greeted with the sight of a worried Derek Morgan. He used his right hand to pick at the knots holding Derek's wrist in place. After what seemed like forever the tight rope finally relinquished control and fell uselessly to the ground. Spencer, drained from his efforts, fell onto his back and closed his eyes.

The second Derek felt the rope fall away from his right wrist he quickly went to work on freeing his left one. He was incredibly worried about his best friend who had fallen listlessly onto his back and was not responding to his muffled calls of concern.

It only took a few minutes for Morgan to release himself from the dresser. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and ripped the gag out of his mouth. Without a moment's hesitation he dialed 911 in order to get Reid an ambulance. He thought about requesting police presence but decided to call Hotch instead. He positioned the phone in the crook of his neck and scooted over to Reid's limp body. He could hear the phone ring on the other end as he cradled Reid's head in his lap.

"Hotchner," a voice called over the phone.

"Yeah, Hotch. It's me. I'm at Reid's and you need to get over here real quick. John…John was here with him Hotch. He hurt Reid real bad," Morgan managed to explain in his frenzied state.

"Is he still there? Are you and Reid out of danger? What happened?" Hotch responded as he pulled on his coat and made his way out of the office.

"Um, yeah…we're safe, but Reid's not doing too well. I called an ambulance already. He…John stabbed him in the abdomen. I left the knife in because I was worried that the kid might bleed out. But there is blood everywhere. They need to hurry," Morgan said desperately knowing that Hotch couldn't make the EMS team get there any faster.

"I'm on my way Morgan. I should be there in less than ten minutes. Hang on," Hotch said as he hung up and concentrated on driving quickly yet carefully.

Morgan, satisfied that help was on the way, turned his concentration back to his best friend. He shook him hoping to rouse him out of his unconsciousness, but no amount of gentle jostling made any difference. Sighing, the dark agent set his sights on removing the leather gag that encompassed the bottom half of Reid's face.

He softly lifted up the genius's head and went to work on undoing the buckles that fastened it in place. He started to take it off, but the latex balloon got caught in Reid's mouth. Morgan then had to manipulate the nozzle on the front of the gag to let the air out of the balloon. Once it was completely deflated Morgan was able to chuck the atrocity across the room and out of sight. Immediately Reid's insentient body began to take in air through his mouth trying to make up for the little amount that was getting in through his nostrils.

Next, Morgan went to remove the enormous collar wrapped around his best friend's neck. He put one hand underneath his friend's head and lightly lifted it up a few inches off his lap. He went to undo the buckles but found little padlocks hanging from the fasteners.

"Damn it," he swore hating that he couldn't remove it and make his friend more comfortable. Instead he decided to ignore the collar for now and adjusted his legs so they surrounded his friend's body in a comforting way.

Reid let out a pitiful groan after Morgan's legs squeezed together against his sides.

"Reid? Reid, wake up. Let me see those eyes. You're safe now. I gotcha," Morgan said gently trying to coax the injured agent into waking.

"…organ?" Reid whispered as his eyes cracked open into tiny slits.

"That's it pretty boy. Show me those beautiful brown eyes," Morgan said with a crack of relief in his voice.

"I…m…sorry," Reid managed to get out as his eyes sought out the comfort of his friend. Slowly his hands were trailing back down to the weapon imbedded in his abdomen.

"What for? You didn't do anything wrong," Morgan asked as he laid his hands on top of Reid's halting their progression.

"I knew," Reid said with a sigh of defeat.

"Knew what?"

"I knew that…that John was coming for me," Reid murmured as he shook off Morgan's touch.

Surprised at Reid's revelation, Morgan decided to ignore it for now, "Don't worry about that. We can discuss it later. Right now we've gotta focus on making sure you're okay."

"Don't," the kids said as his hands finally reached their destination of the knife hilt.

"Don't what?" Morgan asked confused as he watched Reid's fingers caress the handle of the weapon invading his body. "Hey, man. Leave that alone for now. Let the EMTs take care of it."

Reid, ignoring Morgan's worried instructions wrapped his right hand around the knife hilt and tried to pull it out.

"No! Reid! Stop that. What are you trying to do, kill yourself?" Morgan shouted as he ripped Reid's bony fingers away from the weapon and held them down against the carpet.

"Please Morgan. Just let me go," Reid sobbed when his plan was thwarted. All he wanted to do was finish the job that John had inadvertently started. The genius didn't want to have to face his life anymore after all the humiliations and cruelties he had been forced to endure. Now the world looked even bleaker because he knew everything was going to come out and his friends would all be privy to his most shameful moments. He just didn't think he could live with seeing the pity and sympathy that would overtake their expressions every time he was around.

"No man, I can't do that," Derek said with sorrow as tears dripped out of his eyes.

"I don't want to be here anymore," Reid said trying to convince Morgan to let him pull the knife out.

"Why? Why would you want to do that to us? We need you here. You're a part of our family. I don't think we'd survive without you," Morgan expressed as he wrapped his hands around Reid's wrists and brought them up so he could hold them together with one of his beefy hands. With his free hand he brushed the tears that were forming out of his eyes, upset beyond belief at the prospect of his friend trying to end his life.

Refusing to meet Morgan's gaze Reid tried to turn his head to look toward the doorway, "I…I just…"

Reid's answer remained unsaid as the two men were startled out of their conversation by the loud stomping and yelling of the EMTs. Before either of them realized it, there were paramedics surrounding them pulling the two agents apart.

Morgan just sat there dazed as Reid was placed on a stretcher and prepared for transport. He barely even recognized that a man was shining a light into his eyes to check their responsiveness. It took him a few moments to even comprehend that he was being asked questions.

"Sir? Sir, can you hear me?" the young paramedic asked the stunned agent.

"Yeah...yeah I can hear you," Morgan responded finally as his friend was wheeled out of his sight. "Wait. I gotta go with him. It's my job to watch over him."

"Sir, you've got to stay here until I check you out. Besides, there isn't enough room in the ambulance for you. Don't worry. Your friend is in good hands. Now, do you have any other injuries besides this one," the medic said gesturing towards the lump on Morgan's head.

"Nah…I'm good," Morgan said waving the man away like he was an annoying fly buzzing around his head.

"Morgan. Let him look you over," came a stern voice from the hallway.

"Hotch, I'm fine," Morgan said relieved to finally see a familiar face.

"Morgan…," Hotch scolded using only one firmly spoken word. His eyes danced over the other agent's body taking in the injury to his skull, the roped burn rings around his wrists, and the red rimming his eyes.

"Fine," Morgan conceded as he allowed the paramedic to look at his wrists and check his vital signs.

While Morgan was being checked out completely, the solemn agent walked completely into the room and took in the scene. He saw the bloody corpse on the floor facing the bed. There was a ton of nylon rope strewn about on the floor and bed indicating that someone had been restrained. Finally, there was a strange leather contraption on the floor underneath the window. Hotch took a step closer and shuddered when he realized what the object was and that it had been used on one of his agents. Whatever had happened here was going to affect his two agents for days to come.

The EMT cleared Morgan but cautioned the agent to take it easy due to his minor concussion. A few seconds after the paramedic vacated the room began to fill up with crime scene technicians. Hotch put his arm around Morgan's shoulders and steered him out of the bedroom. When they got into the living room he halted their journey and said, "The crime scene techs can take it from here. Let's get down to the hospital and see how Reid is doing. I want you to call the others once we get in the car to let them know where to meet us."

Morgan just nodded and allowed himself to be led out of the apartment building. Once they were in the car and the phone calls had been made Derek allowed his head some comfort and leaned it against the headrest.

"So what happened?" Hotch asked bluntly.

"I went over there to get on Reid's case because he was really rude to Garcia while they were out today. I was also going to force him to talk to me and tell me what's been going on in the big brain of his, but…but when I got to the house he didn't answer the door. So I decided to force my way in by breaking through the door. Once I was inside I noticed that it was eerily quiet and dark. I thought I had made a mistake and that he wasn't there, but then I saw a light coming from his bedroom. I called out to warn him I was coming and he never responded. So I pushed open his bedroom door and found him gagged and hogtied on the bed. I was so pissed that someone had done this to him that I ran over to try and free him. Reid tried to signal me to watch out but I didn't pay attention and then John attacked me from behind. We fought a bit, but the bastard knocked me out. When I woke up I was tied to the dresser and Reid was facing me on the bed," Morgan explained.

"So John followed Reid all the way back up here? Why?" Hotch asked.

Morgan gulped knowing that he was going to have to clue Hotch in on his suspicions of John's obsession. "I think I know why. See, when John came back into the bedroom he told me that he had plans for Reid and that he was going to take him back to the bayou. He said that no one would be able to find them this time. Then he said he was going to kill me after he forced me to watch something. That bastard sat on the bed and started to fondle Reid. Hotch, I think that John was obsessed with Reid. And if I had to guess…I'd lay odds that he raped the kid while he had him captive on that island."

Hotch took a moment to digest the information, "You're probably right Morgan. It makes sense when you think about the way Reid's been acting lately. Damn it! Why didn't he tell us?"

"You know Reid, Hotch. The kid doesn't reveal anything, especially when it's something that personal and embarrassing. There's more though…," Morgan trailed off.

"What?"

"Well, Reid actually was the one to save us both. He stopped the rape before it started because he had somehow gotten free of the ropes. He fought with John and ended up stabbing him in the eye with something. I was so proud of him. But when Reid stabbed him John was in the middle of writing with a knife on Reid's abdomen and when he died he fell on top of Reid forcing the knife all the way into his body. Reid passed out and didn't wake up for a few minutes. When he finally did he pushed John off of himself and reached for the knife. I yelled out as best as I could and got his attention. The kid scooted his body across the floor with a knife stuck in him and freed me from the dresser. It was then that I called the ambulance and then you," Morgan said with pride in his voice at the younger agent's action.

"Wow, when he wakes up you're going to have to make sure he knows how proud you are," Hotch said in a bit of awe at Reid's heroic deeds.

"Yeah…well, that's just the problem. The kid doesn't want to wake up. He tried to remove the knife so he would bleed out," Morgan confessed as his voice broke at the memory.

"What?" Hotch practically shouted.

"He said he didn't want to be here anymore and he begged me to just let him go," Morgan said in a hollow voice. "I told him I couldn't let that happen. There was no way I was going to let him leave us here without him."

Hotch remained quite upon realizing the implications of Reid's actions. It was going to be a struggle getting the damaged agent onto the road of recovery.

* * *

The team all gathered in the waiting room of the hospital. They were all quiet thinking about the story that Morgan had shared once they had gotten there. Everyone's mind was on Reid and how his trials and tribulations had affected the young man's self-esteem.

No one wanted to admit it but Reid's reaction wasn't all that surprising. They knew that their resident genius would rather die than allow other to see him as weak. Admitting to being rape would have been the ultimate declaration of weakness. They knew that Reid saw death as a preferable alternative to living while knowing that everyone knew his secret.

The door creaked open a doctor entered the room. There were multiple families besides the team sitting in there awaiting news, so it wasn't surprising when every head in the room swiveled to follow the doctor's entrance.

"Spencer Reid?" the doctor called out.

"That's us," Hotch responded quickly as he stood up to meet the physician.

The doctor gave him the once over and nodded his head. "I'm Doctor Messler. Are you family?"

"I'm his emergency contact and power of attorney. I give you permission to discuss Spencer's diagnosis in front of them," Hotch said with authority.

Again the doctor nodded, "If you'll all follow me."

Wordlessly the team followed the aging doctor out of the waiting room and down the hallway. He took them to a small conference room and gestured for them to sit down. "Sorry my eccentricities, but I like to discuss patient matters in private. Alright, as I said I'm Dr. Messler and I'm in charge of Spencer Reid's primary care."

The doctor took a deep breath and paused to see if there were any initial questions. Receiving none he started in on the list of procedures that had been done on the young man in his care. "Spencer came in with a stab wound to his abdomen. He had lost a large amount of blood and it turned out that his descending colon had been perforated. Luckily, the knife blade was not very long so the damage could have been much worse. As a result, he only required a small portion of his large intestine to be removed, and we did have to set him up with a colostomy bag to aid in his healing."

The doctor paused for a moment to let the information sink in and then continued, "We casted his hands again to help his broken fingers, but the casts shouldn't have to stay on too long. He had a minor concussion that we are keeping an eye on, and the rope burns on his arms and legs have been bandaged. Overall, Spencer is going to make a full physical recovery in time."

"Doctor Messler, how long does he need the colostomy bag?" Hotch asked knowing from personal experience that they were not pleasant or comfortable.

"At the most eight to twelve weeks, but depending on how fast his body heals it could be a significantly shorter amount of time," he explained.

"And mentally?" Rossi asked straightforwardly.

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. He's been awake for a little while now but I can't get a good read on his mental status."

"And why is that?" Rossi asked with curiosity.

"Because he's refusing to speak," the doctor said simply.


	10. This Isn't Giving Up

**Hi friends! Happy Weekend! We are coming to the end of our story and there is only one chapter left. Honestly, I struggled with writing this chapter. I think I am way better at writing the suspense and whump than the angst and recovery stuff. So, I hope you like the chapter anyways! BTW there is one point in this chapter where I made the doctor overreact a bit...it was on purpose to help spurn Morgan's part along.**

**Thanks for following, commenting, and favoriting the story!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Reid woke up suddenly from his deep medically induced sleep. His eyes were assaulted by the bright light that was shining into his room through the window. He groaned as he tried to push his body into an upright position by propping himself up on his elbows. He managed to make it up a few inches but he quickly collapsed back down onto the lumpy mattress due to the weakness in his limbs. Looking around he spotted the bed's remote lying next to his head. He went to grasp it with his left hand but noticed that the fingers were encased in a new cast. He jerked his right hand forward in front of his face and saw that it too had plaster surrounding the broken index finger once again.

The idea of sitting up left his mind as he decided to try and find out what else was bandaged on his body. Reid allowed his right hand to move up to his head and found a dressing covering the spot where he had been knocked out with the knife hilt. He allowed his fingers to wander over the rest of his face and found a few minor scratches. In addition, he noticed that his jaw was extremely sore, probably from the vile gag that had been stuck in his mouth for a few hours.

Reid continued to explore his body and eventually found the new bandage covering a wound on his abdomen along with a plastic bag. He knew that he had been stabbed by John and based upon the bag that was attached to the wound he assumed it must have hit his large intestine. Great. Just when he thought things couldn't get more humiliating he now had to wear a colostomy bag for an unknown amount of time.

Sighing, he allowed his hand to come to rest at his side. Against all odds he had survived, and he couldn't be more frustrated.

Usually, one would feel triumph at overcoming such a harsh ordeal but Reid was the exception. Instead he felt disappointment and anger. He had come to terms with his own death while he was lying there on his bedroom floor. He had embraced the fact that he was dying and he was glad that he didn't have to endure a long emotional recovery. But it looked as if his desire to move on had been thwarted by his friends and the paramedics. Now his friends were going to question him about his feelings, drill him for explanations, and try to impart their sympathy on him. They were going to force him to relive some of the worst moments of his life over and over so they could record it and file it away in a case file. His humiliation would live on forever in the annals of history, able to be accessed by anyone doing research or someone who is just trying to satisfy their own curiosity.

So how can he forego all of this unpleasantness? Perhaps he could take his earlier plan of hiding away his feelings a bit further than he originally planned.

He was wrested from his thoughts when the doctor knocked on the open door and walked into the room without waiting for an invite.

"Good morning, Dr. Reid," the man in the starched white coat said as he walked toward the foot of Reid's bed to grab his medical chart, "I'm glad to see that you're awake."

The genius chose not to acknowledge the doctor and steadied his eyes on the white ceiling above his bed.

Undeterred by the silence the doctor continued talking, "I'm Dr. Messler, and I have been put in charge of your care. Do you have any questions for me?" The doctor, noticing that his patient was looking up went and positioned himself in the young man's gaze.

Reid continued to ignore the doctor and turned his head away facing it toward the blank wall on his left.

"Um, well…I'd like to go over your injuries with you and our treatment options. Is that okay?" Dr. Messler said trying to appeal to the man's attention.

Still receiving no indication of the boy's preference the doctor pushed on, "I casted your broken fingers again and treated the rope burns that you incurred on your wrists and ankles. All of which should heal nicely within a couple of weeks. You also sustained a minor concussion which we will be keeping an eye on. Your worst injury was the stab wound you sustained in your abdomen. The knife went in up to the hilt and perforated your large intestine. We had to remove a small portion of your descending colon, and as a result we have fitted you with a colostomy bag which you will require the use of for a few weeks. Do you have any questions for me now?"

Spencer continued his stubborn silence and decided that it was time to close his eyes in a not so subtle hint for the doctor to just leave him alone.

"Okay. Well, Mr. Reid I would like a verbal confirmation from you to indicate that you understand what is going on," Dr. Messler asked hoping that the boy would respond.

Receiving nothing in return, the doctor tried one last approach to get some sort of reaction from the injured agent, "Should I send your friends in to see you? They have been in the waiting room since you got here. I haven't even updated them on your progress yet. Perhaps it would cheer you up to see some familiar faces."

Nothing.

The doctor let out a large sigh of disappointment and decided that his efforts were being wasted. Something was obviously wrong with the boy and he didn't mean physically.

"Alright, I'm going to go talk to your friends and family and update them on your condition. Since you don't seem to have an opinion I'll be allowing them to come in and see you as soon as I'm done," the doctor said as he turned around and left the room.

That last statement almost made Spencer break his vow of silence. He really didn't want to see his friends at all.

* * *

"What do you mean, he's refusing to speak?" Morgan asked incredulously.

"Just that. I went in his room to inform him of his care and I couldn't get a single reaction out of him. I asked him multiple questions and went over his health, but not once would he respond to me. He was wide awake and seemingly aware of what was going on around him. Initially he had his gaze set on the ceiling and then he turned it to the wall and closed his eyes," the doctor explained.

"Well maybe he was just tired or disoriented," JJ suggested.

"No, ma'am. I've been doing this job for quite a few years and I know the difference between a confused patient and an obstinate one," the doctor responded.

"To be honest I'm not surprised that he isn't talking," Hotch piped up after the doctor finished.

"Why is that?" Dr. Messler asked.

"Reid has been very distant with us all lately. He wasn't recovering well from his abduction, and he chose to hide most of his emotions away from us. The fact that he is now mute suggests that he is closing us all of entirely," the lead agent answered.

"That and…," Morgan trailed off forgetting that they hadn't told the doctor about Reid's attempt at suicide.

"And what?" the doctor asked curious as to what the dark agent had to add.

"Ah…well, before the ambulance arrived to Reid's apartment he tried to take the knife out of his stomach," Derek explained.

The doctor's eyes widened, "Are you telling me my patient is suicidal? Why didn't you say something earlier? We left him all alone in his room with no special instructions to the nursing staff to keep an eye on him. He may even need restraints. I can't believe you all didn't report this before now!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Dr. Messler. Slow down. First of all, I would highly advise against restraining Dr. Reid," Hotch started to say.

"And why is that? It is common practice in order to prevent another suicide attempt," Dr. Messler said as he stood up to go check on his seemingly unstable patient.

"One of Spencer's worst nightmares is being locked up and strapped down. I promise you he will shut down so tightly that you'll have no hope of ever getting him to talk," Hotchner explained.

"Yes, well…the young man isn't speaking anyways. So right now it seems that the boy can't get any worse," Dr. Messler argued as he halted his progress out the door.

"Might I suggest something?" Rossi asked interrupting the alpha fight that was stewing between the two dominant males.

Both men turned to the older gentleman and waited for him to continue.

"Why don't we send Morgan into his room to see if he can get Reid to open up? If he is successful than perhaps you, Dr. Messler, will be able to come in later and do a full psychological work up on the genius," Rossi finished with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"Morgan?" Hotch asked as he turned to his fellow agent.

"Yeah, I'll do it. I've got the best chance out of all of us," Morgan answered.

"Alright," the doctor acquiesced, "I'll let you give it a shot, but if he doesn't come around than I may have no choice but to turn him over to the psych ward for the duration of his stay. As it is right now, even if he does start talking I'll want him to talk to someone about his trauma."

"We weren't suggesting that he shouldn't talk to a professional. In fact, I think we can all agree that he will need to anyways. But at least this way we aren't forcing him to endure his worst nightmare," Hotch said.

Morgan, anxious to see his friend, got up out of his seat and went wait by the door, "Doctor, which room is he in?"

"Oh…here. Let me show you the way," Dr. Messler said as he turned and led the profiler out of the room.

The rest of the agents were left in the small conference room looking around at each other with worry, mentally wishing Morgan success with their favorite genius.

* * *

Morgan took in a deep breath before he entered his best friend's hospital room. He knew that it was going to be a battle to get his friend to talk. Once Reid set his mind on something it was near impossible to get him to change it.

He rapped gently on the door to let the genius know that someone was coming into the room. As he walked in the first sight he took in was Reid's back. It barely concealed by the flimsy hospital gown that he was wearing and through the gaps he could see scarring that wasn't caused by the explosion on the island. Morgan mentally filed that information away knowing that now was not the time to bring it up.

"Reid?" he called out to his friend as he went and planted himself in the chair next to the study hospital bed.

His friend stiffened a little, signaling to Morgan that the boy was awake, "Reid, man…I know you're awake. Look, why don't you turn around a face me so we can have a talk?"

There was no response, and unbeknownst to Morgan, Reid was squeezing his eyes shut on the other side of the bed praying that his friend would go away. Ignoring his friend's stubbornness, Derek decided to plow on hoping somehow to get his friend to crack.

"Alright, have it your way man. I guess I'll just talk. Um…Reid, Spencer…I just wanted to thank you for saving my life back there. If it wasn't for you John would have killed me. You were absolutely amazing under pressure and because of that I get to live to see another day," Morgan said with admiration in his voice hoping that Reid would come around.

Reid, listening to what he felt were false words coming out of Morgan's mouth, couldn't control the tears that were dripping out of the corners of his eyes. How could Morgan thank him? If it wasn't for Reid than Derek would have never been put into that situation in the first place.

Morgan heard soft sniffles coming from Reid and decided to keep talking, "I also wanted to tell you that I understand why you've been acting so closed off lately. I…I saw how John was treating you and well…it all clicked. Spencer…why didn't you tell me. I could have helped you get through it. Out of everyone on the team I know what it's like to be violated by someone. You know that I would have been there for you."

Reid felt his face heat up and flush a deep red at Morgan's insinuation. Perfect, just perfect. His best friend was able to accurately discern his secret and now the man knew how dirty and foul Reid was because of it. How could he even suggest that Reid needed to talk about it when he kept it hidden for years and years? He knew that this wasn't something you just sat down and told someone. It's an experience that needs to be buried and ignored, not embraced and faced.

Morgan shifted in his chair and saw the color rise in the one cheek that Reid had exposed. He knew that he was hitting home with the genius and that now was not the time to back off, "You know what Reid…I understand that you're trying to bury all of the shit you've gone through into the depths of your mind. But I'm telling you right now that it's not going to work. Take it from me. Hiding it all away will allow it to gnaw at your soul and overtime the pain will grow worse. Honestly, it's going to destroy you if you let it. The Reid that we all know and love is going to die and leave behind this hallow shell that you are wearing as a façade right now. So please, talk to me before it's too late."

Reid, deciding that his friend wasn't getting silent message flipped over onto his back and turned his head in Morgan's direction. There was anguish written all over his face, etched in deep lines that someone his age should have yet. Instead of talking though he just shook his head from side to side as he brought up his right hand to cover his eyes.

Morgan was tormented at seeing his friend wallowing in so much distress, but he was also getting frustrated. Why did his friend have to be so pigheaded? Hadn't their friendship over the years taught Reid that he could trust him? In fact, the more Morgan thought about it the angrier he got.

"You know what Reid? I never thought I would see the day that you decided to give up. You have been through so much in your life, more than the average person. And every tragedy that you've had to endure you come out stronger on the other side. Never once have I seen you give up and stop living your life. Sure, sometimes it took you longer than others to bounce back, but never once have you just up and quit. You are a poster boy for survival. Why is this time any different?" Morgan stated allowing his ire to shine through in his words.

Finally having heard enough out of his friend, Reid threw his arms down on the bed in exasperation and yelled out, "This isn't giving up, it's letting go!"

Morgan, shocked that he had actually gotten a reaction out of the mulish boy, asked quietly, "Letting go?"

"Yes! I'm letting go of you. I'm letting go of the team. I am going to do this on my own. That way I don't drag any of you into this mess I've made of my life. I'm not going to be responsible for bringing you all down with me. I'm going to carve out a new path through this terrible life all on my own. I can't let the dirt and filth that taint me rub off on all of you. So please, let me take the truth with me…all the way to my grave," Reid expressed with sorrow as uncontrollable tears cascaded down his face.

"No…there is no way I'm letting you go. There is no way any of us will let you go. Stop being ashamed of what happened to you! No one thinks any less of you for enduring the all the shit John put you through. No…what makes us disappointed and upset with you is your instance that you have to overcome it all on your own. The fact that you insist on pushing us away does not make you strong, it's making you weaker. Your stunt on the bedroom floor, trying to kill yourself, it only came about because you've allowed your spirit to become weakened," Derek chided his friend.

"You're right. I am weak now. And I would rather die than be seen as weak," Reid said with defeat in his voice.

"But that's just it Spencer. You don't have to die. You can become strong again. You have a support group that is here to help you rebuild your life. You've just got to ask," Morgan said as he reached his hand out and placed it on Reid's forearm.

The genius shuddered at the touch and tried to pull his arm out of Morgan's grasp, "I can't."

"Why?"

"Because…because…you all would be better off without me anyways," Reid admitted finally wrenching his arm away from Morgan.

"What are you talking about? Why would you ever think that?" Derek asked incredulously.

"I bring danger and pain with me wherever I go. It was with me in Vegas, I was tormented in college, the FBI academy was no picnic, and I have brought countless hazards and unnecessary trials upon this team. I couldn't ask you guys to repair me, the person who brings about so many misfortunes and hassles. It would be better if I just move on and start over somewhere else," Reid explained in a hollow voice.

"You're insane Reid," Morgan said knowing that the word would startle Reid out of his self-pity.

"I'm not crazy!" the genius practically shouted.

"I think you talking about leaving us and moving on by yourself qualifies you as crazy. And for your information, if you do keep talking like this your doctor is more than ready to put you into the psych ward," Morgan said as he watched Reid's red eyes widen in fear.

"What?" the boy whispered.

"Yeah…he knows that you're suicidal. He told us that if you keep acting closed off and depressed than he will have no choice but to pass you off to the psych doctors," the dark agent explained.

"But…I just wanted to end the humiliation," Reid said as if that was a good reason to attempt suicide.

"Well, you can avoid it if you would just accept our help. If you do, than the worst you would have to endure is talking to counselor as an outpatient while you recover at home with me," Morgan said knowing that he was playing to Reid's worst fears.

Reid licked his lips in contemplation. He really didn't want to open up to anyone, but he didn't want to end up strapped to a bed in the psychiatric ward of the hospital, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask pretty boy," Morgan replied as he squeezed his best friend's arm.


	11. Learn to Live Again

**Ahh...here we are again at the ending to another story. I really hope you have enjoyed this tale! I want to thank EVERYONE who followed, commented, and added the story as a favorite. Your support really helped motivate me to write. I know that some of you may think that there is so much more I could cover when it comes to Reid's road to recovery, but I really feel that this is the best place to end it. Thanks again for sticking with me and take care!**

**Please forgive any mistakes!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Morgan sat by Reid's bedside and watched the healing genius drift off to sleep. He hoped that he had gotten through to the boy, but he just wasn't sure. The older agent was extremely worried about Spencer's state of mind, and he really didn't want his best friend to try to attempt suicide again.

After he was sure Reid wasn't faking his slumber, Morgan left the room to go find the doctor and his team. He wanted to update everyone on the fact that he had finally gotten the genius to talk and what his coworker had revealed.

He didn't have to walk far because right outside the door were the rest of his friends. They all looked up at the dark agent as he silently closed the door behind him. He held up his finger to his lips and gestured to them to go back to the conference room so they could talk freely.

Wordlessly the team went back to the private room and sat down. Each agent fixed their stare on Morgan looking expectantly at him in eager anticipation of the news he was about to deliver.

"I got him to talk," was the first words that were spoken in the somber room.

Everyone stirred at the wonderful news but Hotch was the first to respond, "How? What did he say?"

Morgan sighed and began to explain, "Well, I started off by thanking him for saving my life. I couldn't get any response from him except for a few sniffles. So I plowed on and told him that I understood why he had been acting so close off lately. I told him I knew how he felt…"

"What do you mean? How could you possibly tell him you knew how it felt to be kidnapped by a crazy hunter from the bayou?" JJ asked, astonished that Morgan would even insinuate to Reid that he could empathize with the genius's experiences.

Morgan glanced at Hotch and noticed the stern man nod his head, clearly giving his consent for Morgan to share his suspicions with the team.

"I didn't mean that I understood all of that. When I said I knew how he felt, I was referring to his…his sexual assault," Morgan said quietly with sorrow flooding his voice.

"His what?" Garcia cried out, hoping what Derek had just revealed wasn't true.

"Look, while I was tied up John started taunting me that he was going to take Reid back to the bayou. He started fondling him and planting kisses all over his body. I just knew in that moment what Reid had been trying so hard to hide from us all…John had raped him out on that island. If you think about it, it all makes sense," Morgan shared with the stunned profilers.

No one said anything for a few minutes as each person reflected on their favorite genius's behavior after he had been found. Finally, when Morgan was sure they had come to terms with what they had learned he continued on with his story.

"Anyways, as I was saying I told Reid how I could understand what he was feeling, but I also told him how his quest to keep it all locked inside was going to destroy him. He still wouldn't respond to me and…well…you know my temper. I got really frustrated with his stubbornness and I kinda…I kinda got harsh with him. I pretty much accused him of giving up. Well, Reid didn't like that because all of a sudden he yelled at me and said that he wasn't giving up but letting go," Morgan said as he paused for everyone's reaction.

"Letting go of what?" Blake asked concerned with the ominous turn the story had taken.

"He said he was letting go of us. He said he wanted to live the rest of his life on his own. He said…," Derek's voice cracked, "He said that he didn't want to let his dirt and filth rub off on us."

"So he's suffering from typical PTSD due to his rape. He thinks that he is tainted from the assault and he sorting through feelings of worthlessness and weakness," Hotch said as he processed his agent's words.

"Yeah, I would say so," Derek agreed.

"So did he say anything else of significance?" Rossi asked.

"Well, I insinuated that pushing us away was making him weak, and he agreed with me. Then he said he would rather die than be weak. I immediately squashed that and told him that we were all here to help him get through this if he would just asked. He said he couldn't because we would be better off without him. I told him he was crazy, which got him upset. He told me he wasn't crazy but I told him his suicidal thoughts said otherwise. Then I told him that the doctor was considering admitting him to the psych ward. He really didn't like that. I ended the conversation by telling him that if he would just consider talking to someone, even me we might be able to avoid that outcome. He said he would think about it and then drifted off to sleep," Morgan explained as he ended his account.

Again, silence dominated the room as the team tried to sort through their thoughts. The good news was that Morgan had forced Reid to break his vow of silence, but the bad news was that the kid was possibly suicidal.

Hotch cleared his throat and decided to fill Morgan and team in on the phone call he had just had with the new section chief, "While you were in with Reid, I decided to call Agent Cruz and update him on everything that had just happened. I told him about Reid being practically kidnapped again and how we are pretty sure that he had been assaulted by John Brookins. In light of all this new information, Agent Cruz rescinded Reid's suspension and officially put him on medical leave. He said could see how Reid's trauma affected his actions earlier this week and wished him a speedy recovery."

"That's excellent news! Knowing that his job isn't in jeopardy anymore should help push Reid out of his funk a little bit," Garcia chattered excitedly.

"That's what I'm hoping," Hotch replied.

Morgan, happy to hear the good news about his best buddies job, decided that it was time to get back to his friend's room, "I'm going to go back and wait for Reid to wake up. Maybe he'll be in the mood to talk a bit more. I'll also let him know the good news."

Hotch nodded and said, "While you're doing that we'll update the doctor on Reid's progress."

* * *

_For the first time in the past few weeks Reid finally felt safe. He looked around the room that he was currently in and it finally dawned on him where he was…home. No, not his apartment, but his childhood home in Las Vegas. He was in the living room next to the plaid couch where he and his mother would always work on putting together puzzles using the coffee table as the base._

"_Hello?" he called out to the seemingly empty house._

_Internally he was wondering how he had gotten here. He had sold this place a long time ago when he decided to move to Virginia and join the FBI. It was a wonder that the new owners had left it exactly as he remembered._

"_Is anyone here?"_

"_Back here, Spencer," he heard a familiar voice answer._

"_Mom?"_

"_Of course my sweet boy. Who else would it be?" she called from down the hall._

"_Mom, why aren't you at the hospital?" he asked._

"_Because you need me. Now get down here and join your mother," she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

_He cautiously walked down the hall and pushed open the master bedroom doorway. His mother was propped up on the bed with her back against the headboard. She had a copy of "One Thousand and One Nights" open on her lap. She patted the bedside to indicate that she wanted him to join her._

_He quickly went over to the empty side of the bed and scooted himself close to her like he did when he was a child. She put her free arm around his shoulders and drew his head into the crook of her neck._

"_How did you know I needed you?" he asked quietly trying not to disrupt this peaceful moment._

"_A mother knows…" was all she said._

_The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes during which she ran her fingers through his hair and gently kissed him on the forehead._

_Spencer, comforted by his mother's touch, didn't even realize that he had tears dripping down his face._

_Diana used her thumb to wipe away the salty discharge and made soft shushing noises with her mouth, "Spencer, tell me why you're so sad?"_

"_I can't mom…it's too…it's too embarrassing," he softly cried as his tears soaked into her nightgown._

"_Nothing is too bad that you can't tell your mother. It's my job to listen. Now tell me what is going on in that big brain of yours," she gently chided._

"_Mom, I…I've been having a really hard time lately. Too many things have been going wrong in my life lately. First there was Maeve…," he began but broke off cryptically._

"_Now then, I already know about you and that pretty girl. I was so sad to hear about such tragedy. I had really hoped that you wouldn't have to live through anything so awful. A parent always wants to shield their children from such sorrows, but there's more Spencer. I can tell," she said encouraging him to talk._

"_Well…we were on this case down in Louisiana lately and the unsub…uh bad guy…he…he kidnapped me," Reid confessed to his mom. "Mom, it was awful. He chained me up and forced me to do his bidding. I've never felt so humiliated. That is until..."_

"_Until what, honey?"_

"_Until he forced himself on me," he cried out as he admitted it for the first time to someone other than himself._

"_Oh my sweet baby," she cooed as she hugged him close to her and started to rock him back and forth._

_Spencer felt himself give in as he let out huge gut-wrenching sobs. He felt her hand on his back rubbing soothing circles in a manner only a mother could perfect. It took him ten minutes to let it all out and soon his sobs died away to quiet whimpers._

"_Spencer," Diana said quietly._

"_Hm?"_

"_You can't let that defeat you," she said as she laid his head on her lap after pushing the book away._

"_How did you - " he started to say as she cut him off._

"_I know you son. The only reason we're here now is because you've finally reached your breaking point. You've let this assault overwhelm you and bring you down. And if I didn't know any better I would say you're trying to cope with it on your own," she said._

"_I've always handled things on my own," he responded._

_She sighed, "I know and that's my fault. I couldn't be there for you when you were growing up. So you got it into your head that being independent and closed off makes you strong. But you're wrong. It's times like these you need to be surrounded by people who care about you. It's time like these you need to learn to live again, and you can't do that by yourself."_

"_I have you," he said._

"_Now sweetie, you know that this isn't real. I'm far away from you right now and I can't give you the help that you need. You have to accept what has already been offered to you," she admonished._

"_But I can't…," he sniveled._

"_Why?"_

"_I can't let them see me so vulnerable. And I can't share what really happened during my kidnapping with them," he answered._

"_And why not?"_

"_Because it's too personal and shameful. I'm dirty now. I've been tainted with that man's touch. I'm scarred forever with his mark," Reid admitted._

"_Now baby, if those people are really your friends none of that is going to scare them away from you. They are good people, and I know that after you let your guard down and allow them in you'll be pleasantly surprised by their response."_

"_I just don't know if I can," he said._

"_Well, I'm afraid if you don't you might be joining me soon," she said mysteriously._

"_What do you mean?" he asked with worry laced in his voice._

"_If you try to keep everything hidden away you are going to destroy yourself. You will drive yourself into a deeper depression than the one you're already experiencing. You'll leave your friends no choice but to put you in a place where doctors can watch over you to ensure your safety," she explained._

_He rubbed his eyes and said, "But I don't want that."_

"_Well, than you know what you have to do," Diana said as her hand traced lines up and down his arm. "Trust your friends Spencer. They won't let you down. Now, I'm afraid that it's time for me to go."_

"_What? No, mom. Stay here! I don't know if I can do this without you," he cried as he realized the room around him was fading._

"_Even though I'm 2,419 miles away, I'm always with you. Now do what you're mother says and start getting better. I'm expecting a letter from by the end of the week," she demanded before she completely disappeared._

* * *

"Mom!" Reid cried out as he woke up from the comforting dream.

Derek, who had been stationed by Reid's side for a few hours now jump in surprise at the loud cry that issued forth from the rosebud lips.

"Mom?" his friend questioned as his eyes looked around in confusion.

"Reid, it's just me, Morgan. You're mom isn't here," Derek said soothingly as he scooted his chair closer to the hospital bed.

Reid laid there for a moment trying to get his bearings and then glanced over and made eye contact with his friend, "I…I was hoping that she would be."

Morgan, not knowing how to respond just nodded his head.

"I was having a dream about her," the boy said unsure as to why he was sharing his dream.

"Was it a good dream?" Morgan asked glad that his friend was willing to talk about something so personal.

Reid licked his lips and croaked out, "Yeah."

Morgan held up a Styrofoam cup of water that had a straw and a lid to his friend's parched lips. Reid eyed the cup in the dark hand and hesitantly took a sip out of the proffered straw.

"Thank you," he whispered after Morgan took away the soothing liquid.

"No problem. Anytime," was all he said. Morgan sat back in the chair and continued to keep his gaze focused on Reid. He didn't want to start the conversation this time because he knew that Reid needed to feel in control. So he sat there waiting for the stubborn profiler to open up on his own.

"She…um…she was comforting me," the brown eyed boy started. "We…we were back at home in Vegas and she knew that something was wrong. When I was a kid and she was lucid, my mom was always able to tell when things were wrong with me. It was just like back then," he said with a far-off look in his eyes.

Morgan chose to remain silent, not wanting to scare Reid out of talking.

"She made me tell her what happened. Then she got on me for trying to handle it all by myself," Reid said with a hint of a smile. He knew that Morgan would appreciate his mom's efforts to get her son to open up.

"She's right you know," was all the older agent said.

"You mean I'm right," Reid corrected.

"Come again," Morgan said.

"Well, technically since it was a dream it was my subconscious talking and not my mom," Reid explained.

Morgan smiled. It was good to see a hint of the old Reid breaking through the sorrowful shell that was now his friend.

"So….," Morgan prompted.

"So…I think…I think that maybe I should try talking about it," Reid said sheepishly as his face grew to a deep red at the thought of sharing his most vulnerable moments.

"Should I go get a doctor?" Morgan asked, "I'm sure he can hook you up with an experienced therapist that can help."

"No! No…I don't want to talk to some stranger. I'd rather talk to…you," Reid confessed as he drew the blanket up to his chin as if to protect himself.

"Are you sure pretty boy?" Morgan asked as he let the nickname accidently slip out.

"Um…no, but I'd rather try with you first," he said shakily.

"Okay. I'm here to listen whenever you're ready," he encouraged.

* * *

"He took me by surprise. I had woken up early that morning and decided that I was going to buy us all coffee to help us get through the long day ahead. I went to Maybell's diner and pick up the six cups. It…it happened all of a sudden. I was walking by a gap in between the two buildings when I felt something wrap around my neck. It got tighter and tighter and eventually I passed out."

"JJ and Blake found the empty coffee cups there later on," Morgan supplied as filler so Reid could gather his thoughts before he continued.

"I woke up on his boat all tied up. When he docked it I tried to talk to him, but he refused to answer. I got defiant with him and he choked me with the snare until I passed out. I woke up later in a metal trapper's cage with the metal collar around my neck and manacles attached to my wrists," Reid explained as he closed his eyes to envision the situation he was reliving.

"You must have been pretty scared," Morgan said.

Reid ignored his friend's statement and continued on, "After I realized that I was alone I decided to yell for help. John came crashing in and started yelling at me. He told me that I was there to work and entertain him. He explained that he took me because of the story I was telling JJ the previous night at the grocery store. Morgan…he took me because of my words. He took me because I was talking too much like I always do."

Morgan, hearing the distress in his friend's voice started to piece together some of Reid's recent actions, "Is that why you wouldn't talk a whole lot after we found you?"

Reid shook his head up and down, "Kinda…I figured that my words were what got me into trouble in the first place, so I should use them sparingly from now on."

"Ahh…Reid…I'm sure deep down you know that it becoming mute wasn't going to solve your problems and make the memories go away," Morgan said.

"Yeah, I do know that...but anyways, he let me out of the cage and forced me to make dinner. I did. And then we sat by the fire and I had to finish my story. Afterwards, I thought he was going to put me back in the cage but he forced me down on the ground and attached my collar to a chain in the floor. He proceeded to whip me with his belt because I had tried to take a knife from the kitchen earlier. I have scars on my back now from how hard he hit me," Reid admitted for the first time.

"Geez man, I wish you would have said something," Morgan complained knowing that Reid wasn't going to respond to him.

"He made me sleep there on the floor chained like a dog for the rest of the night. The next morning he chained me up outside and gave me a list of chores to complete while he was gone. That's when I had the encounter with the alligator. It came out during the sudden rainstorm and long story short, I tried to get away from it and it bit my leg," Reid continued.

"John came back later and saved me from the gator. After I told my story that night I had an opportunity to escape to the boat and I took it. John caught me though and was furious. He took me over to a tree stump and made me think he was going to chop off my head. Thankfully he didn't, but that's when he got out his soldering iron and branded my stomach," Reid explained as he clutched his stomach where he was forever marked with the vile word "Slave."

"That night I had to sleep chained to the dock. The next day started off as nothing special. He left me chained up inside the house and told me to clean it, which I did. But that night…that night…he uh…," Reid, who had been doing so well at maintaining his composure suddenly started sobbing, "That night everything got much worse."

Morgan, knowing that Reid was getting to the heart of the story, remained silent and allowed the genius time to compose himself. Instinctively he reached his hand out to grab Reid's in a soothing manner but thought better of it. The older agent was then surprised when Spencer's hand found his and clutched it in a tight grip.

"That night he told me he was pleased with me and decided to let me sleep on the bed," Reid sputtered out in a nervous fashion. "I quickly realized what was going to happen and I started to struggle. I kicked him and tried to run for the boat again, but he quickly subdued me. Before I could even comprehend it, I was attached to the bed by my collar."

"He…he then chained my feet down to prevent me from kicking him. Then he…he…tried to kiss me. But I bit him."

"Good for you kid. I bet he didn't try that again," Morgan said proud of how hard his friend fought.

Reid gulped and nodded his head, "No, he didn't. Instead he wrapped duct tape around my head to keep me silent and avoid my bite. He told me not to touch the tape or he would break any finger that came into contact with the gag. He then…he…," Reid stopped his story and broke down into a mess of tears and proceeded to squeezed Morgan's hand with his vicelike grip.

Morgan quickly got up on the bed and started hugging his best friend. He didn't even think twice about the close contact until Reid stiffened up under his touch, "Oh…I'm sorry man. I just wanted to help."

Morgan made to jump off the bed but Reid whispered, "No, it's okay."

Derek was more than happy to stay positioned on the bed with his best friend, it showed definite progression when it came to Reid's slowly healing psyche, "You know you can take a break if you need to. We don't have to go over all of this right now."

Reid shook his head and said, "No, if I don't get this out now I never will."

"Okay, but don't try to be brave just because I'm here. Take your time and allow the emotions to flow," Morgan coaxed.

Reid took a deep breath and continued his tale, "He then exposed my body. I was so desperate for help that I went to remove the duct tape forgetting his earlier threat. John grabbed my index fingers and snapped them both backwards. After that he assaulted me for what seemed like hours. Eventually I passed out and didn't wake up till the morning. I tried to take the gag off again but apparently John thought I still needed it, so he broke my middle and ring finger on my left hand. He then got back on top of me and…and assaulted me again."

Morgan sat there as the silence enveloped the two profilers. Reid had finally opened up to him and it was much worse than Derek could have ever imagined. No wonder Reid had been so upset to hear that the team gave up the search that night. If they could have found him maybe his best friend would have never been raped. He hugged his best friend tighter to relay his sympathy and unknowingly started rocking Reid like his mother had done in his dream.

Spencer was allowing quiet tears to streak down his face as he allowed himself to feel safe in his friend's burly arms. He clutched Morgan tightly whispered a soft, "Thank you."

Morgan rested his chin on Reid's head and said, "For what?"

"For this."

"That's what friends are for Reid. I just wish we could have found you sooner. We tried so hard," Morgan in a tear choked voice as remorse flowed through his body.

"Don't…don't cry. I know that you guys did your best. I just didn't want to admit it," Reid said, not wanting his friend to feel so guilty.

"I'll always regret letting Hotch send us back to the hotel room that night," Morgan admitted.

"And I'll always regret going out to get everyone coffee," Reid added. "So what happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I got it all out like you guys wanted. But what happens to me now?"

"Well, I do have some good news for you," Morgan said allowing some happiness back into his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Hotch talked to Agent Cruz and he cancelled your suspension. You are officially on medical leave, and your job will be waiting for you when you get better," Morgan shared excitedly.

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, not at all."

A smile broke out on Reid's face at the news.

"I can't tell you how good it is to hear that," Reid stated as he finally released his iron grip on Morgan's arm.

"Well, I'm just happy that I was the one who got to break the good news to you. Now I think it's time for you to get some more sleep," Morgan ordered.

"Nah, I'm fine and there is so much more to tell," the boy said with a sleepy tilt to his voice.

"Liar. I know your eyes are drooping. Just sit back and relax. I'll get up and let you have the bed to yourself," Morgan murmured as he made to move off the bed, "Anyways, we have all the time in the world to discuss everything else."

"You sure?" the kid mumbled.

"Yeah kid, I'm sure. Now close those big brown eyes. I'll watch over you while you sleep. We'll work everything else out later," the big man said as he settled back into the chair by the bed. Derek allowed his eyes to flit over his healing friend once again and felt his heart warm at the thought that Reid was finally learning to trust again. He knew that the genius had finally broken down the wall that shielded him from his friends and allowed the healing process to start.

The boy, oblivious to his friend's musings, just sighed in agreement and turned on his side pulling the blanket under his chin. He closed his eyes and relished in the secure feeling that he was experiencing for the first time since this whole ordeal started.

* * *

**I hoped you enjoyed it!**

**So, I have two stories stewing in my brain.**

**1. Set in season seven right after the "True Genius" episode. Our genius is taken by a man that is running an illicit kink website online. The man was attracted to Reid after listening to him lecture on the different paraphelias. Let's just say Reid's going to get to experience quite a few of the things he discussed with his audience.  
**

**2. Also set in season seven. Reid has finally found a woman that he loves. He gets engaged and starts to plan a new life with her. Unfortunately, he wakes up one morning to a set of nurses that have come to take him away and commit him to the local sanitarium. What does his girlfriend have to do with this turn of events and how will the team get him released?**

**So are you interested in either? Let me know :)  
**

**Take care!**


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